Toshiro's Troubles
by inner darkness
Summary: What happens when Toshiro becomes popular with the ladies is bleach and an enemy returns. BTW this isn't my story I am posting it for a friend. Dislaimer: neither of us own bleach
1. Chapter 1

**Toshiro's Troubles Part One**

"MATSUMOTOOOOO!!" cried a small white haired teenager.

Matsumoto walked nervously and cautiously into 10th squad's office, where her angry captain sat at the desk.

"Yes Captain?" she said, trying to keep her voice free of guilt and look innocently curious.

As she walked in, she instantly felt a slight chill in the air, even though it was a warm summer day.

"Why is there a ton of unfinished paperwork hidden behind the bookshelves?" hissed Hitsugaya.

At the mere mention of the word "Paperwork" Matsumoto felt nauseous.

_He really is a boy genius_ she thought, _I'll have to think of a new place to hide them, well, he found them under the sofa, and now, he's found the ones behind the bookshelves, but at least he still hasn't found the ones hidden under the floorboards. Oh well, I'll just have to find somewhere else to put them…the window,… under his desk…_

"Well! Out drinking with Hisagi and Renji again?"

"Wha. Oh er..I..er"

She had to think quickly, her captain was getting quite good at recognising when she wasn't telling the truth, she quickly glanced over at him, looking into his light blue eyes, eyes that where trying to detect any giveaway signs of her lying.

In the end, only one answer came to her…

"…" and she sprinted out the door

"GET BACK HERE"

Hitsugaya sighed angrily, _Seriously, is that women allergic to paperwork?_ _Shes gonna be the death of me._ He stretched and walked over to the window but stopped as an ominous creaking met his footfall. "What the…" He looked down at the floorboard under his foot, it was loose and it was bulging slightly. He bent down, dreading what he was about to see, and he picked up the floorboard…

"MATSUMOTO!!"

Hitsugaya was in a fuming temper all day, so much so that the desk, sofa, and bookshelves had small ice crystals forming on them, and anyone who entered the office usually left quickly while shivering uncontrollably.

_Damn woman, she just thinks she can waltz back in here, flick her eyelashes and I'll forget everything_, he thought angrily.

**Meanwhile…**

Matsumoto sighed loudly.

"Hi Matsumoto" Renji called

"Whats up, why are you looking so down, its not like you"

"My Captains never gonna forgive me" she sighed again

Renji thought he knew what this was about, he shifted uncomfortably, knowing that he had had a small part to play in the fact that he kept asking her to have drinks with him and his freinds. This meant that she was never in the office to do any,

"Paperwork" and again she sighed

"Well, sitting in the pub drinking sake isn't going to help much"

"He's adorable you know, even when he's angry"

"Er, Matsumoto, How long have you been here?"

**Back in 10****th**** Division Office**

Hitsugaya's breath steamed in front of him but he didn't really feel the cold, he was too busy thinking up a way to punish Matsumoto. "Women" he growled

"What about them" came a soothing voice he new well.

"Hinamori, What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I just came over for a visit, but, er, if your too busy, I'll, er just" She fidgeted nervously, which made Hitsugaya feel quite uncomfortable.

"No, No, its ok, I've er almost finishedthe paperwork, by _myself_" he said, with a delicate stress on the word.

"Matsumoto, been neglecting her duties?" she asked, knowing full well what the answer would be.

"…"

"Er is it just me, or is it a bit, _Cold_, in here Shiro-chan"

"Maybe it is, Bed-wetter Momo" But despite her teasing him, he had calmed down a great deal since she had came. Likewise the temperature was returning to normal the calmer he got.

"Hmm, em, do you want me to help you finish the paperwork"

Hitsugaya felt a rush of gratitude towards his life long friend. She grabbed a seat and moved over to sit close beside Hitsugaya, she smiled warmly at him and Hitsugaya felt as if the room temperature was a bit warmer than normal…

Hitsugaya woke with a start to find Hinamori's head resting on his shoulder. They had both fallen asleep while doing the unending paperwork. He shifted nervously in his seat when he realized what was pressing softly against his shoulder.

Hinamori stirred slowly before opening her eyes. She slowly looked up at what her head was resting on and found herself staring into Hitsugaya's eyes. She suddenly jerked off him and almost tipped her seat over. But Hitsugaya grabbed the chair just in time and its legs fell back to the ground with a loud clunk.

Matsumoto suddenly walked in "Morning Cap…"

She stared around at the scene in front of her.

Hitsugaya and Hinamori blushed and nervously avoided looking at each other.

"Oh, I er didn't mean to interrupt you" she said with a sly glance at her captain, who quickly looked away.

"You weren't interrupting anything" said Hitsugaya quickly, knowing the impression that Matsumoto was getting, and her tendency to add two and two together and make ten.

"Of course not she said" her eyes lighting up, but deep down she did feel jealous towards Hinamori.

She quickly left the room "I'll er, leave you two in peace for a while" and she closed the door.

"Great" sighed Hitsugaya "Now she's going to tell the whole of Seireitei that we're going out"  
"Sorry Toshiro" whispered Hinamori, with alarmingly watery eyes.

"Well, er, I…Didn't mean it to sound like us going out was a bad…thing. But she had already departed before he had finished his sentence.

He would have to find her and apologize later, damn Matsumoto and her interfering.

Hitsugaya had been doing paperwork until midday, and he was unsurprised if not a little annoyed that Matsumoto had not returned since the morning.

He had just went into the kitchen to start making himself something to eat when he was suddenly grabbed from behind and his head was unexpectedly pulled in-between two large soft objects as two hands wrapped around his chest. "Matsumoto, what the hell are you…" she hugged him tighter and her hands pressed around his chest. She then leant forward and said "So what were you two up to last night".

"Maa…mo….o…ca..nt…bre…th..le….go"

"Sorry Captain"

Hitsugaya regained the ability to breathe as she let go of his chest, chocking slightly he growled "Were you intentionally trying to kill me".

"OOOH Captain, I could never do that" and she ran forwards, her arms outstretched.

Hitsugaya looked up but it was already too late, a split second later his head was buried face first into Matsumoto's breasts. Having barely regained his breath he was once again deprived of oxygen. She released him just before he passed out and even though he was chocking, his face wasn't only flushed crimson because of the lack of oxygen. No matter how many times he had been thrust into that airless valley he still found it quite embarrassing.

"Now that you've finished attempting to suffocate me, for your information NOTHING happened" As he said this he couldn't help but notice her eyes light up slightly. "We both sat and did paperwork, speaking of which" He walked into the office, grabbed a large stack of papers and thrust them into Matsumoto's hands. "You can fill those in, and if you run away, I'll double it"

"Ooooooh Captain, you can be cruel sometimes" she whined.

"Just do it, please"

"Ok Captain, just for you"

Hitsugaya was taken aback by this sudden change in her horrendously lazy attitude. For the first time in his memory she walked into the office and started doing the paperwork.

After he had made himself some lunch he walked back into the office, noticing that she had barely completed any of the paperwork. Although he had said she wasn't to leave until it was done, he couldn't help but detect a small smirk on her face throughout the rest of the day, and that same glint in her eyes when he had told her that nothing had happened between him and Hinamori.

Even though he had given her so much paperwork Matsumoto couldn't help but grin slightly, _if nothing happened then that means I'm still in with a chance _she thought_, and he would never lie about that sort of thing. I'll soon have him all to myself_. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him looking at her suspiciously and she quickly tried to remove the grin that was spreading across her face.

Hitsugaya was returning to the office when Ukitake appeared from nowhere. "Ahh, Shiro-chan". Hitsugaya stepped back, _Not again_ he thought, _what am I going to do with the candy this time?_

"Well, what a pleasant surprise seeing you here, young Shiro-chan". _Surprise, yeah I'm really surprised considering you probably followed me here._

"Please, I'm not called SHIRO, I'm a captain too, _old_ Shiro-chan" he growled, fed up with Ukitake's stupid excuses for giving him sweets and his disrespect of his title.

"Aww I'm sorry, well I'll see you later, Captain Hitsugaya" He turned around and slowly walked away.

He couldn't believe his luck. _What! He didn't give me candy!!_ Just as he thought this, Ukitake stopped abruptly and slowly turned round. _Damn_

"OH, I almost forgot, here, I have candy"

Hitsugaya stood, exasperated, as he piled mountains of sweets and chocolates into his hands. _I should have known he wouldn't forget._

He staggered back to the office, bearing the weight of the candy. He managed to open the door with his elbow.

"Matsumoto", he called, unable to see past the stack of candy in his arms.

He shakily walked over to her desk and deposited his large load of sweets, just as Matsumoto walked in from the kitchen. "Captain" she said in a loud sing song voice, "Thank you so much, she charged forward and once again the tired captain found his face stuffed into Matsumoto's…'upper body'. "Thank you, you know how much I love sweets" she chirped hugging him tighter. She felt him struggle, trying to push her off but she tightened her grip, she loved teasing her captain like this.

Although it was soft and warm, where his head was located, he started to choke from the lack of oxygen. Wishing he had just thrown the candy in the bin, rather than having to endure this attempted murder.

Knowing roughly how long he could survive, Matsumoto knew just the right time to release him, when she did he was, as usual, blushing deeply. Matsumoto smiled to herself, knowing that subconsciously he probably slightly enjoyed these hugs but she knew he would rather die than admit it.

Due to these hugs Hitsugaya usually received a lot of envious looks from the other men in Soul Society. _Envy, who'd want to be suffocated like that._

Finally he collapsed into his seat and started completing a large stack of paperwork, while Matsumoto slowly ate her way through the sweets.

It was another searing hot day in soul society, Hitsugaya felt exhausted, as the heat sapped his energy. _Screw this stupid paperwork_ he thought uncharacteristically, as he lay slumped lazily on his chair. _I should be allowed to relax for once, but maybe I should just get it finished first_. As usual when there was a lot of paperwork, Matsumoto was nowhere to be seen.

Hitsugaya forced himself into a proper sitting position and stared blandly down at the paperwork which was commenting on a decrease in the number of hollow attacks in Karakura town. _Decrease, who cares about a decrease, I'd be more worried if it was an increase._ _Maybe I should release Hyorinmaru, that might cool me down._

Suddenly the door of the office opened and Ichigo and Rukia walked in. "Hi Toshiro" called Ichigo. Hitsugaya twitched angrily at the use of his first name.

"It's _CAPTAIN_ Hitsugaya to you, and if you say that ONE more time I'm gonna turn you into an ice sculpture" he roared. "OH and _Knock_ before you come in, and…what the hell are you doing here anyway?"

"You're just full o' questions, aren't you Tos…"

"AAAARRGGGHHHH", roared Hitsugaya as he stood up "IT. IS. CAPTAIN. HITSUGAYA. YOU. STUPID. IDIOT!" he screamed in-between deep breaths.

"Jeez, sorry _Captain Hitsugaya_"

"Thank you, was it _that_ hard to say" and he sat down

Ichigo paused, noticing an ice cold feeling surrounding him on this scorching hot day "…no" he said quietly, before adding "captain"

"So, why are you here"

"Oh, I'm just taking a holiday to visit Rukia, just thought I'd pay you a visit"

He indicated to Rukia who had been standing in the background the whole time.

"Hi Captain Hitsugaya" she said as she gave him a rather seductive smile.

Ichigo noticed this nice attitude towards Hitsugaya, which earned him a jealous glare from him.

"Well, we were thinking about inviting you for a drink, but we can see your busy" he said hurriedly, grabbing Rukia and beginning to leave.

"Wait, I'm almost finished so, yeah, I'll come"

Rukia beamed at him and Ichigo scowled angrily, hoping that the answer had been no.

**At the Pub**

"That'll be…" Ichigo did a quick head count, "six sake's and a glass of water with lots of ice"

He carried the drinks back to the table sat down, and began passing the drinks around…"…and the icy water for you Tosh, er Captain Hitsugaya."

"I was just thinking" said Ichigo, "Why did you want ice cubes with it, surely you could just make the ice your…" He faltered at the glare that Hitsugaya was giving him.

"Do _you_ want to be turned into an ice cube" he growled

"I think I'll pass" he whispered.

The atmosphere around the table was tense, and rather cold (If you were sitting too close to Toshiro). For a while Rukia, Hinamori, Ichigo, Hisagi, Yumichika, Renji and Hitsugaya sat in silence, occasionally taking a sip of their drinks, the others noticing that they were unusually chilled.

"So" Rukia began "I've heard that there have been fewer hollow attacks in your town Ichigo"

"What, really?" said Hisagi. So they began a long discussion about hollows, which Hitsugaya did not participate in.

He looked across the bar, and there, on a bar stool in the corner of the room sat Matsumoto, _Tsk, so this is where she's been all day, hiding from me in the one place I wouldn't normally go, Hmm… Well, now that I know that this is where she hides out, I'll be able to find her here next time…_

Matsumoto sat and took another lazy sip of her drink. _I wonder if the Captain's did all the paperwork yet, then it'll be safe to go back._

"Hello…Matsumoto" came a voice she did not want, or expect to hear.

"_Captain! _What are you doing here?" she said, shocked to find him in the pub, with a glass of water in his hands.

"I could ask _you_ the same thing" he said

Matsumoto thought carefully about how to respond, observing the fact that her captain was now holding a glass of ice, instead of water.

"Well you see, it was such a warm day, I decided to get some refreshments, and then I er ran into…Ichigo and we started talking abou…" she stopped as he cut across her babbling "Well that's funny" he growled. "Considering that Ichigo's been annoying me for most of the day, unless he has a twin brother".

_Dammit, _she thought, once again only one option came to her…

"Don't even _think_ about flash stepping out of here, if you do…the consequences will be so much paperwork that you'll never be able to leave the office for…" He paused, deliberating what the length of her sentence should be. "a month"

She noticed a glint in his eyes which meant to her that he was serious.

"Oh come _on_ captain, can't I have a break once in a while?"

"WHA…" He was cut off when Ichigo called over, "Hey Matsumoto, wanna come and join us?"

She eyed her enraged captain before calling across "Sorry, I have…I have…" she looked at Hitsugaya again before finishing, "Work to do" she said miserably".

As she left Hitsugaya returned to the rest of the group before sitting down again between Hinamori and Rukia. As he sat down he noticed that both of them gave him a warm smile and then each shot angry looks at the other, as if wishing that if they glared long enough the other person would instantly die.

Hitsugaya happened to notice this, and it didn't take him long to figure out what they were probably battling over. _ME, or maybe I'm just getting paranoid. _He attempted to take a sip of his water before realising that it was frozen solid. He then decided it was best to leave before Hinamori and Rukia started clawing each others eyes out. He stood up "Sorry, I better get back and make sure Matsumoto's doing the work". Hinamori and Rukia looked slightly depressed that he was leaving so soon. "What?" mumbled Ichigo, slightly drunk, "Oh, bye Toshiro"

Hitsugaya stopped on his way to the door and slowly turned around, "ICHIGOOO!"

Ichigo gulped and soon become aware of the fact that the whole bar was glazed in a layer of ice. Unfortunately the only escape route happened to be the door…which Hitsugaya was standing in front of. Hitsugaya grabbed his sword and unsheathed it, ready to turn him into an ice-lolly.

Suddenly the door of the bar opened and a massive man with incredibly spiky black hair appeared at the door. "Hey kid" Kenpachi roared "Wanna fight?"

"Wha…What" Hitsugaya stuttered, turning round and seeing that it was Kenpachi.

This was the last person he would want to fight, but thankfully, someone unintentionally came to his rescue, because as Kenpachi looked around the bar he spotted…

"ICHIGO, Excellent, we can have our rematch now"

If Ichigo had been terrified before, it was nothing to how he felt now.

Toshiro used this distraction to quickly flash step out of the bar and to safety.

Unfortunately he happened to flash step near a person he definitely didn't want to see right now "If it isn't Shiro-chan, must be my lucky day, but, you're out a bit late, aren't you" Ukitake said.

"Unless…you were looking for me…for some reason" He winked, "For some _candy_".

_OH DEAR GOD, why couldn't I have flash stepped near someone else, anyone else but him. I think I would have rather fought Kenpachi. Is candy all that infernal man ever thinks about?_

He gave him a fatherly smile and put an arm around his shoulder, "Ukitake, what are you doing?" Hitsugaya said, trying to shake his arm off. But he just winked knowingly at him. "Lets go back to my office and I'll see what I have".

_Rukia, Hinamori and maybe Matsumoto was one thing, but…Ukitake. _He shivered_, that's…just…not…right. So that's why he's always giving me candy. I should stop thinking about stuff like this._

A while later he was standing in 13th Squads Office while Ukitake went and searched for as much candy as he could probably find. Hitsugaya stood where he was, too polite to refuse him. After all Ukitake was permanently ill and it just seemed a bit cruel to Hitsugaya if he refused allowing him to do something which, strangely, made him happy.

"Here we go" Ukitake said, carrying a huge box with the words 'Hitsugaya's Candy' scrawled across the side. Hitsugaya stood where he was, dumfounded, _Surely NO, He cant expect me to carry that thing all the way back to 10__th__ Division._

He dropped the box on the ground and Hitsugaya thought he felt the ground shake a little. "I've been meaning to give this to you for a while, but I couldn't think about how to get it to you, so I'm glad you came over"

_And HOW THE HELL do you expect ME to carry it_ he thought.

He moved over to the box that was literally bursting with candy and he had to use a considerable amount of reiatsu just to slide the thing along the ground.

He focused as much spiritual energy into his body as he could and with a huge effort, he lifted the box, which was almost bigger than he was. He could have fitted inside the thing, and there was about 20 times his weight in candy inside it.

**Much, Much, MUCH struggling later…**

At last, the door to 10th Squads office, where he could finally deposit this infernal box. He managed to use his reiatsu to open the door and at last he was able to drop the huge box. Panting, sweating and breathing hard, he collapsed onto the sofa without even looking at it, before jumping up in surprise and embarrassment. He had just collapsed onto the sofa which was already occupied by Matsumoto

"WHAAA, oh, it's you Captain, I thought whatever fell on me was light" Toshiro blushed furiously and looked away. It was at this point that Matsumoto noticed the huge box with candy leaking out of it. The scream of delight she let out at seeing this box made Hitsugaya cover his ears, surprised that the windows hadn't shattered. "OH CAPTAIN, YOU BROUGHT ME SWEETS AGAIN!"

Thinking quickly he suddenly had a miraculous idea, an idea which would make the effort of bringing this box worthwhile. "Wait" he shouted, "you can only have it if you do _all_ your paperwork for the next month"

She stood, weighing up her options before saying "OK, anything for you" and she winked seductively at him.

_I think that Matsumoto might actually be part of this love triangle now, _he thought,noticing the way she had winked.

"Captain, how did you know?"

"Know what?"

"That candy's may third favourite thing in the world"

"What, Oh…What's you're first and second favourite thing."

"Well my second favourite thing is sake, and my first…my first" she paused again and glanced over at Hitsugaya, who thought he knew what the answer was.

_Well, she's definitely in this love triangle now._

"My first favourite thing is…is…you"

For the next few weeks he was surprised that she actually did the paperwork, with the lure of the gigantic box of candy to keep her motivated. However the times that they sat together in the office were quite awkward after the night that she had told him that her favourite thing in the world was him.

_This could turn nasty if Rukia and Hinamori find out what she said._ Speaking of which both of them appeared, usually at least once a day, though obviously not at the same time lest a fight would ensue. Normally they would make up lame excuses for visiting him such as wanting to have a chat with him, or else ask him for a drink. Everytime this happened, Matsumoto would stop to listen, and then smile a little when he said he was too busy.

_I'll have to choose one of them or they'll end up murdering each other._

He turned back to his paperwork and filled his signature in at the bottom, before neatly stacking it on the pile of completed work (which was considerably larger than Matsumoto's stack of completed paperwork) _At least she's trying _he thought, as he looked over at her small stack of completed papers.

He then checked his watch, it was 11:30pm, he yawned, and went into the kitchen for a cup of tea. Moonlight shone through the window where he stood, looking up at the stars, a full moon shining in the sky. He suddenly saw Matsumoto's reflection approaching him from behind.

"Captain" she said, uncharacteristically nervous, as he turned around.

"Yes?" he replied cautiously, the tone of her voice made him feel anxious too.

Matsumoto stood and stared into his teal eyes, and he stared back at her navy eyes.

"I…I…think…I'minlovewithyou" she said in a rush.

"What, sorry, could you say it a bit slower?"

"Oh er…never…never mind. It wasn't important." As she turned and walked back to her desk, he thought he saw a tear running down her face.

He cautiously walked back into the office, although he hadn't heard her clearly, he thought he had got roughly what she had said. _Maybe I should tell her what I think I heard her say, I hate seeing her sad like this._ Although he couldn't see because she had her head bowed and her hair hung down like a curtain, covering her face, he thought that she was crying, because he could hear her sniffing occasionally.

As he looked at her he couldn't help but think that she did look quite beautiful, especially the way her hair hung lazily down around her face as she sat with her head down.

Knowing how terrified she must have been when she said it, Hitsugaya finally plucked up the courage. It was amazing how much easier it was to face up to a Menos Grande, or even one of the Arrancar, than it was to say his feelings aloud.

He slowly walked towards her desk, as he did she shifted a large pile of paperwork in front of her, blocking herself from view.

_It took me so long to pluck up the courage to say that, and I messed it up _Matsumoto thought. _I don't want him to see me crying._ She saw him approaching her, and shift the paperwork away.

"Matsumoto…?"

"I er…er…I…I…think…I…er…lo..ve…you too.

There was a silence that was so quiet that you could here a light breeze outside, blowing gently against the windows.

"Cap…tain" Matsumoto whispered, unsure if she had heard him correctly. _I must be dreaming, did he just say that, I could swear he just did, WAHOOO_.

Hitsugaya stood nervously, wishing that he would stop blushing. _She's not saying anything, maybe I misheard her, maybe she doesn't like me…_

There was a long silence, and they both looked at each other.

Hitsugaya was starting to panic, he felt like flash stepping as far away from her as he could, but then she smiled at him.

"You do?"

"Well, yea" he finished lamely

"YAY, CAPTAIN, YOU LO…"

"DON'T SHOUT IT OUT LOUD"

Before he new it she had stood up, knocked over the paperwork and he was receiving a bone breaking hug. His face, for about the thousandth time, was stuffed in-between her breasts. He quickly twisted his head to the side so that he could breath, and he made no attempt to struggle, because for once, he allowed himself to enjoy it…

When he was released, Matsumoto turned and went over to sit on the sofa. Hitsugaya followed nervously. They stared into each others eyes again and Matsumoto leaned towards him. Hitsugaya closed his eyes, and their lips met in a deep kiss, he moved forwards and deepened it, _This isn't as hard as I thought it would be_. Matsumoto noticed this deepening of the kiss, _He really is quite good, for a novice_.

They broke apart and Hitsugaya sat nervously at the end of the sofa.

"You're quite good at kissing Captain" She said.

He blushed crimson again and stared at his hands.

"Oh, come on, there's no need to be so embarrassed, it was a compliment".

She slid along the sofa towards him and he turned to look into her beautiful eyes.

She put one arm around his neck, and with the other, she ran her fingers playfully through his snowy white hair. Matsumoto gently pulled him closer and their lips meet again in a passionate kiss. She slid the hand that was on his neck slowly down his chest, feeling his muscles, even through his captain's uniform. The stroke sent a shiver running down his spine and he twitched a little. They parted again and he rested his head on her lap.

She gently ran her fingers through his long, soft hair, while he softly rested against her.

_This is so relaxing _he thought, as his eyes slowly drifted shut.

A few minutes later Matsumoto noticed that her captain had fallen asleep.

She bent down and kissed the top of his head before gently lifting him up and carrying him to his room.

"You deserve a nice sleep." She walked into his dark and immaculately clean, tidy and well ordered room. She tenderly placed him down on his bed and pulled the covers over him. She knelt down and looked into his beautiful face as he slept. She watched him for a while as he took long deep slow breaths. She then stood up and walked to the door "Goodnight Captain" she whispered before quietly closing the door.

Hitsuagaya was suddenly awoken by a loud scream, and panicked yells from all over the place. "What the…?" He quickly jumped out of bed and grabbed Hyorinmaru. He ran outside and a terrible sight met his eyes.

There were large rips in numerous places in the sky around Seireitei, and, storming around the place where about twenty Menos Grande. He stood transfixed, horrified, _WHAT, THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING, THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING. _

The Menos Grande stormed through the narrow alleys of Seireitei, firing cero's and trampling on buildings. Numerous Squad 10 officers lay dead as he followed the trail of destruction the Menos Grande that was nearest him had caused.

"CAPTAIN" came a terrible scream.

"MATSUMOTO" he shouted, and suddenly he saw her, and with a shock, he realised that beside her stood Ichimaru Gin, with his sword at her throat.

Gin gave Hitsugaya a sly grin before opening a rift to Heuco Mundo with his finger. He then dragged Matsumoto inside and the rift sealed "NOOOO" he screamed.

Suddenly, the Menos Grande that was nearest to him fired a Cero at him, and he barely flash stepped out of the way in time.

"BANKAI" he roared. "DAIGUREN HYORINMARU"

Wings of ice and a tail erupted from his back, and his arms and legs were encased in a layer of protective ice. With a quick flap of his wings he was at eye level with the Menos Grande. He sliced it in half with one attack before it unleashed a Cero that would have destroyed 10th Squads Barracks. He charged forwards towards the next Menos Grande but suddenly they all turned and retreated back to Heuco Mundo.

From his altitude Hitsugaya could see the whole of Seireitei, and the damage that had been done in just a few minutes. Smoke billowed from numerous places and he could see countless bodies surrounding large craters.

All this destruction caused in but a few minutes, but nothing compared to the pain and destruction Hitsugaya felt in his heart as he had watched Matsumoto being dragged away by Ichimaru, that cruel, unnatural smile on his fox-like face.

He soared back over to the 10th Squads Barracks and landed, just as a hell butterfly fluttered towards him. "All Captains and Vice Captains are to report to Captain-Commander Yamamoto at once for an emergency meeting".

Hitsugaya took flight again and soared towards 1st division, tears forming in his eyes.

The Vice Captains and Captains were all assembled in front of the Head Commander. "The damage reports from the squads are coming in now, it is unbelievable that Aizen has gathered so many Menos. However, it was thanks to the quick actions of you all that more serious damage was not caused."

Yamamoto stared around at the assembled Captains, who each had panic-stricken looks on their faces, all still confused from the attack. He suddenly noticed that Matsumoto was not there.

"10th Division Captain Hitsugaya, were is Vice Captain Matsumoto"

Hitsugaya looked up, tearfully "Ichimaru Gin has kidnapped her"

"What, this is bad news indeed, I wondered why they disappeared so quickly. We must form a rescue operation to get her back from Las Noches, whilst there we should attempt to wipe out Aizen, Tosen, Gin and his Arrancar. However, it will be a difficult mission indeed, which is why I am leaving soul society under the protection of the royal guard, zero division. All of the Gotei 13 shall head to Las Noches were we shall confront Aizen and put an end to this now, before he can gather any more Vasto Lorde and convert them into Arrancar, and before the Hougyoku becomes fully active."

He stared around at them all, seeing the determination in their faces, and none more so than in Toshiro's.

"Well, I'm glad were getting straight to the fighten, I hated this waitin around" growled Kenpachi

"You do understand the seriousness and the dangerousness of this mission don't you 11th Division Captain? That is why I request that you do not hold back when you are fighting, all of you, this is not the time to enjoy the fight so I request that you do not use your eye patch to hold back your reiatsu, Kenpachi"

"Well, I guess that means it won't be fun after all, OK I won't use it"

Hitsugaya stared out the window, the very same one he had been looking out when Matsumoto had said that she loved him. How could this have happened, he felt terrible all the time, the memory of her screaming for him, her terrified face as she was taken away.

They had spent most of the past few days preparing for the assault on Las Noches, and the officers helped the rebuilding process to try and repair the damage caused by the Menos.

Ichigo, Orihime, Chad, Ishida, Yoruichi and Urahara had appeared in Soul Society to assist with the restoration, and they had also decided to join the rescue squad. Orihime had been very tearful because she and Matsumoto had got on well. Thanks to Urahara, they had a way to gain entry to Heuco Mundo, he had also decided to come, so that he could destroy the Hougyoku which he had created.

Eventually the time came for their attack, all the Captains, Vice Captains and Ichigo's group gathered in the 1st division meeting room. Yamamoto and Urahara stood at the front of the group.

"We should all stick together as there is safety in numbers, and don't take any unnecessary risks." Yamamoto said before turning to Urahara, "Is it ready?"

"Yes" he said.

Suddenly a black line appeared which then seemed to peel back the very room as the black gateway to Heuco Mundo appeared. Slowly they all advanced inside. Hitsugaya was glad that it was finally time to do something, he would kill Gin for doing this, and he hated Aizen equally if not more. _I'm coming Matsumoto, and I'll save you, if it's the last thing I do_ he thought determinedly…

**Las Noches**

"O' c'mon, jus take a little" Gin said, a plate of food in his hands

Matsumoto just stood where she was, her back to him, _To think that I ever had feelings for that man, compared to Toshiro he's nothing but a vicious freak._

Gin placed the food on the floor and then slid his slender hands around her waist and she slapped him.

"Now tha' wasn't very nice, eh?" Gin whispered softly in her ear.

"I think I'll ave to teach ye some manners…" He punched her and she gave out a soft whimper as she fell to the floor.

He stared at her for a while before he departed, "Be back later…Rangiku."

She shivered at his use of her first name, and held her stomach were he had hit her. She was so hungry that she grabbed the plate of food and ate it within a few minutes. Her stomach still ached where he had hit her but nothing hurt her more than thinking about Toshiro, and where he was now. _I feel like I've been here forever, does anyone even care, if he really loved me he'd come after me…_ Tears began to run down her face as she thought about him "Toshiro" she whispered…


	2. Chapter 2

**Toshiro's Troubles Part Two**

The half moon that shone in the eternal night of Hueco Mundo provided a dull source of light for the large group of people making their way through the wind-swept desert.

Occasionally the wind would swirl the sand up in small clouds which would then blow across the ground, the party would then have to shield their eyes from it.

Sometimes a ripple of darkness rolled across the ground as a hollow passed them, but it did not turn into a corporal form. The shadows often circled the group before drifting away.

One thing that was clearly visible was the massive structure of Las Noches, said to be the size of the whole of Seireitei. It was comprised of a massive black domed structure with large towers surrounding it.

Apart from the drifting of the sands and the shadows of the hollows, there was no life to be seen in Hueco Mundo, occasionally they would pass a withered tree but apart from that there was nothing to see.

Even though they sped up their journey by constantly flash stepped toward Las Noches, they never appeared to get any closer to the giant structure…

**Las Noches**

"Morn' Rangiku" Gin called. Although technically it was always nighttime in Heuco Mundo.

_Morning? That means I've been here for another day…_

"So, ye learn'd yer manners yet, eh" He said as he walked towards her.

He stood beside her and ran his thin, long fingered hands through her hair. She shivered at his touch but did not attempt to shake him off.

"Seems like yer a quick learner." He breathed, his face inches away from hers, she stared angrily back into his face. He leaned forward to kiss her but she backed away, he then grabbed her waist and pulled her close. "Don't make things difficult eh, Rangiku." He lent towards her again, his lips a centimetre away from hers…Suddenly Aizens voice sounded, so loud and clear, it was as if he were standing beside them, but no one else was in the room. "Gin, we have intruders" said Aizen, his voice slightly echoed.

There was silence in the room again and Gin let go of Matsumoto, "Well, I'll jus have te finish this later." He blew a kiss at her, grinning slyly, and he walked out the door, his cloak billowing behind him.

The group of Captains and Vice Captains walked carefully through the massive doors into Las Noches, Yamamoto in the lead. Most nervously drew their swords, wary of every sound, staring into the shadows. They all marched down the corridor, heading inside, unaware that their every move was being tracked…

"Aizen?"

"Gin, what were you doing, we have intruders".

"Nothin much, jus playin"

Aizen stared down at the console in front of him.

"I sense all the Captains and Vice Captains of the Gotei 13" said Tosen. He could feel Komamaru's prescence amongst the others, _This may be my chance to show him what justice means_.

"Well, we'll just have to split this team up" said Aizen calmly. "Mobilize the Espada and prepare to wipe them all out, we need not enter the battle."

Aizen examined the console again, he pressed a few buttons on the screen and it brought up a vast map of Las Noches, he then rearranged the corridors so that it would lead them straight to were the most powerful Espada were gathered.

Unbeknownst to the team, their path was being made for them, and they were walking straight into a massive battle…

They walked through a series of corridors, each as dark and undistinguishable as the last, for all they knew, they could have been walking around in circles, with no distinctive features in any of the long corridors.

"We must try to avoid a confrontation with Aizens Espada, we should try to head directly to him. Without a commander, they may not be as powerful without his leadership. At any rate we don't want any casualties before facing him."

They all charged forwards, eventually coming to a pair of massive doors which opened upon their approach. Inside was a large domed room with a glass roof, the only source of light was from the moonlight outside. At the other end of the room was a throne which sat upon a large tower and, in the heart of the room stood Grimmjow, Ulquiorri and Yammy.

"What is this?" yelled Grimmjow. "Well, look who it is, are you stupid enough to come looking for a rematch Ichigo?"

"GRIMMJOW" called Ichigo, "I will get you back for last time"

"What useless trash this lot is" Ulquiorri said softly.

"It seems like we meet again" Urahara called over.

"Hmm, you're the one that got in the way of us killing Ichigo, I was quite surprised that you can use Cero"

Grimmjow and Ichigo charged forward, "Bankai, Tensa Zangetsu" Ichigo cried out. He swung his sword but Grimmjow easily caught it in his hand. "Still as pathetic as ever, I should have wiped you out the second I seen you."

"Cry, Benihime" called Urahara as he walked slowly towards Ulquiorri

"If it isn't the stupid little girl again" squawked Yammy as he towered over Orihime.

"That's not a very polite thing to say to a lady" Kyoraku said, as he walked over and stood in front of Orihime. "You ready? Ukitake."

"Yes" said Ukitake as he flash stepped beside him, their backs to each other.

Suddenly more Arrancar joined the room and the Vice Captains charged over to fight them.

The room was filled with the sounds of swords clashing against each other, and the taunts and screams of the battlers. The reiatsu from everyone in the room was starting to make the walls and the floor crack.

Some had moved to battle elsewhere where there was more space.

"I'd thought you would have improved by now, Ichigo" roared Grimmjow as he once again blocked Ichigo's attack with his fist.

"Fine, I guess I'll need a little help" He raised his hand in the air and a hollow mask began to form in it.

Grimmjows eyes widened in shock, "What the hell are you?!"

Ichigo placed the mask upon his face, "Its time to pay you back for our last battle." Cried Vizard Ichigo, his voice, sounding distant and like an echo.

"You're a Vizard, _Well_, this might liven this pathetic fight up"

"Getsuga Tensho" he screamed manically.

A blast of red and black energy fired from his sword, Grimmjow was caught in the blast and thrown backwards, where he slammed into the wall.

"Hehehe, perhaps I underestimated you", he panted. "I guess its time to show you…my released form"…

"Scream, Benihime" cried Urahara as a cero shot out of his Zanpakuto, Ulquiorri swiped it away with his hand. "You trash, Begone" he said calmly, Urahara was suddenly trapped in a massive field of black energy. "Time to get rid of the trash" he said. "Blood mist shield" called Urahara…

Kenpachi battled four Arrancar at once. "Well, you really are pathetic, I can barely keep my eyes open" He growled whilst dispatching one of them by almost slicing them in half. Their blood splattered over the floor, staining it crimson, before they collapsed in a heap. "I knew I should' a brought my eyepatch, at least then the battle would last more than two seconds" he said as he shoved his sword through another Arrancars chest. "Yay Ken-chan" cried Yuchuri happily, while kicking an Arrancar in the face.

Hitsugaya battled hard, _The quicker I finish this, the quicker I can find Matsumoto and kill Gin and Aizen. _"Soar into the frozen sky, Hyorinmaru" he roared, and the great ice dragon appeared and dived at the Arrancar he was fighting, freezing him instantly. With a quick slash of his sword the Arrancar exploded into hundreds of ice shards.

Yamamoto duelled with two Espada, Aaroniero and Nnoitra, and was being quickly overpowered. Komamaru suddenly joined the fight. "Yamamoto, I have come to help even out this fight."

The Espada then fought one-on-one with Komamaru and Yamamoto. Flames whipped around Nnoitra, that Yamamoto was fighting, but he just stood calmly in the centre of them, completely unharmed.

Aizen, Ichimaru and Tosen walked in, and Aizen sat in his throne like chair, while Ichimaru stood to his right and Tosen stood at his left. He looked down from his high vantage point, and observed the numerous battles.

The battles raged below him, but eventually the sounds in the room died down, as the victors of the battles moved to find another target. Ultimately the true battle was yet to come. Nearly all the other fighters had left the room to pursue the enemy. Yamamoto, Hitsugaya, Komamaru, Kenpachi, Ukitake and Kyoraku where left in the room battling against the remaining few Espada…

As the last Espada fell to the ground after being engulfed in the flames from Yamamoto, a loud clapping reached their ears.

"Well, Well…Congratulations" mocked Aizen, who had been watching the whole time.

The tower the throne was on slowly sunk, until it was at ground level.

"TOSEN" growled Komamaru

"ICHIMARU" roared Hitsugaya

"Aizen" said Yamamoto calmly "Your end has come, Aizen"

"Such words of wisdom, Yamamoto"

Suddenly with a massive blast of reiatsu that made the walls in the room collapse, Aizen blasted Yamamoto through the glass ceiling, and then he flew off to continue the battle with him.

Tosen and Komamaru stood were they where and Hitsugaya had flown out into the open sky, after Gin.

Kenpachi and Kyoraku went to assist Yamamoto and Ukitake went to aid Hitsugaya.

Komamaru and Tosen charged at each other and their swords met "I will show you the meaning of Justice, Komamaru."

"What has happened to you Tosen, I will destroy you, and you're twisted views of Justice"

"Bankai, Kokujo Tengen Myo-oh" growled Komamaru

A massive armoured giant smashed through the wall and began to attack.

Ukitake and Hitsugaya charged at Gin, He blocked both the attacks and blasted Hitsugaya into the air. He then kicked Ukitake away, "Shoot em dead, Shinso" he said. His blade extended and flew forwards, growing continually, Ukitake looked up at the last moment, as the sword shot straight through his chest. Gin withdrew his sword and now turned his attention to Hitsugaya as Ukitake collapsed to the ground, blood flowing from his chest.

Yamamoto, Kenpachi and Kyoraku battled ferociously against Aizen, who had created numerous copies of himself. Yamamoto struck his sword through one of the Aizen's hearts, only to find that it was another of the fakes.

Kyoraku suddenly noticed that Ukitake was lying, bleeding on the ground, his long white hair being stained crimson by the spread of his blood on the ground. He paid for his laps in concentration as Aizen sliced down his side and blasted him a way with a burst of reiatsu.

In the air Hitsugaya charged at Gin, who blocked the attack and quickly flash stepped behind him and kicked him down onto the roof of Las Noches.

As he attempted to stand up he slashed him through the chest. Hitsugaya roared in agony before screaming "BANKAI, DIAGUREN HYORINMARU"

A swirl of reiatsu surrounded his body, he focused his thoughts, never before had he wanted to kill someone so much. His wings, tail and armour of ice appeared on his body, but for the first time in his memory the ice flowers which counted down the time he had left in Bankai, were not there.

"O', Toshiro, looks like yev mastered your Bankai, You don't seem to have a lil time limit anymore. Is that jus cause yer fighten me, I never knew ye liked me so much."

Hitsugaya charged forward and Ichimaru easily blocked it, He quickly swung his tail around and smashed Gin in the back. He was knocked forwards by the force of the impact and was slammed down to the roof.

Hitsugaya flew forwards with lightning agility thanks to his wings, and his sword sliced through Gins shoulder, he kicked off him, ripping his sword out in the process, making Gin howl in agony, his blood splattered over the ground and he clutched his shoulder, Hitsugaya then fired ice shards from his wings, freezing everything below him, he hovered over Gins frozen form and then charged down, slicing his frozen body in half. Gin's unusual grin, still frozen on his face, as his body was shattered.

Yamamoto and Kenpachi continued to battle with Aizen, who easily blocked every attack. Kenpachi and Yamamoto both swung furious attacks at him, who almost lazily blocked them both with his sword. Out of the corner of his eye he saw as Hitsugaya shattered Gins frozen body. _Perhaps I should have killed him when I had the chance, that boy is stronger than I thought, his reiatsu is a lot more controlled than it was. Maybe I should take this battle a little more seriously._ He blasted them both back with a surge of his reiatsu and slowly formed a Hollow mask in his hands.

"Bankai" Yamamoto cried. Flames burned high into the air.

Aizen placed the mask on his head and there was an explosion of reiatsu, so vast that it covered the whole of Las Noches.

**Meanwhile…**

Matsumoto was worried, she could sense the reiatsu of many of her friends, the reiatsu of Hitsugaya. She panicked as the spiritual pressure of many of her friends died away, but she was still relieved that his seemed to be stronger than ever. Then she sensed the weight of a massive reiatsu, _is that Aizen's, it seems like him, but something's different_.

**The Roof**

Vizard Aizens reiatsu weighed down on them all, Hitsugaya crashed down onto the roof, unable to fly with the power of his reiatsu. Yamamoto and Kenpachi were barely able to stand but they continued the fight regardless. Aizen blasted them away with a simple movement of his sword.

"The entire Gotei 13 can't even beat me, how pathetic"

He ran his sword through Yamamoto, slicing his sword in half and cutting through his body. "Yamamoto", cried Komamaru.

The giant armoured creature ripped through the room below, to stand behind Komamaru, as he faced Aizen. As he looked at its massive blade, Aizen noticed it was stained red in places, he looked down and saw Tosen, who had been sliced clean in half.

Before he had even realised, the armoured creature had swung its massive sword, but Aizen blocked it with his hand and sliced Komamaru and the armoured creature through the waist. The armoured creature fell in two as Komamaru collapsed to ground.

During this time, Kenpachi had been pouring all his reiatsu into his sword, Aizen turned around and he released it.

There was a blinding yellow light, and a rumbling sound as half of Heuco Mundo almost collapsed in on itself, bearing under the weight of the powerful attack Kenpachi had used.

Aizen was blasted back and Hitsugaya seized the chance to attack, creating a blast of icy wind which froze the roof. Kenpachi collapsed to the ground, the amount of spiritual power he had used in the attack had nearly killed him.

Hitsugaya poured in all his reiatsu into a single attack, his determination was motivated by what Aizen had done to Hinamori, to Soul Society. He got up, and flew forwards, so fast that he was just a blue blur, Aizen looked up and attempted to dodge the attack, but realized that his feet were frozen to the ground, he looked up as Hitsugaya charged towards him. He flew straight threw him, his sword slicing through the bone, freezing Aizen to the core. Hitsugaya turned around to see Aizen shatter into a million pieces of ice, glinting and reflecting the moonlight as they fell in a hail to the ground. Exhausted by the attack, he too collapsed to the ground.

The next thing he saw was Unohana's face. "I think you and Kenpachi over exerted yourselves, both your bodies were almost completely drained of spiritual power, but you'll be ok" she said, smiling warmly at him.

He got up and started wandering the ruined corridors of Las Noches, to find Matsumoto…

The cell door suddenly opened, Matsumoto turned round and she felt like her heart had stopped. "TOSHIRO" she cried as she ran towards him. They embraced passionately, "I knew you'd come. Oh Toshiro, I've missed you so much" she whispered, before kissing him and hugging him tightly.

"It seems that in our time apart you've forgotten my rank, its _Captain Hitsugaya."_

"Sorry, Ca…" He cut her off by kissing her passionately, his tongue slipped inside her mouth and he rested one of his hands on her shoulder, and the other, against her face. She placed both her hands around his waist and pulled him closer against her. They broke apart and Hitsugaya looked into her beautiful face, which was filled with happiness. "I was only joking, you can call me Toshiro if you want, just as long as you don't call me...".

"Shiro-chan" she broke in. Hitsugaya twitched in annoyance and Matsumoto laughed happily, _how good it is to see him again, to tease him again, and to hold him again…_

**Soul Society**

"MATSUMOTO!" shouted Hitsugaya.

"Yes Captain?" she asked nervously.

"Oh, there you are, I've been looking for you everywhere"

_Oh God No, I knew I shouldn't have stuffed that paperwork under his desk, what was I thinking when I thought about hiding it there._

"I was just wondering if you er…" he scratched the back of his head nervously before continuing "…wanted to have dinner…together."

"Oh Toshiro, that's a wonderful idea, I'll just go and get ready" _Thank God, I'm safe, I thought he was after me for hiding the paperwork_

She went to turn away when Hitsugaya called "Oh, and get that paperwork out from under my desk…"

Her face turned scarlet with embarrassment, and she was glad she had her back to him, she heard him walk off, and she finally burst out laughing. _I should have known he'd find them, he is just far too smart, I give up, no matter where I hide them he just finds them, I think he can read my mind sometimes, or maybe he's just got hidden cameras in the office. Nah, I guess that's what you get when you've got a prodigy for a captain, for a lover…_

**10****th**** Division Office**

There was a soft knock on the door

"Come on in Matsumoto" called Hitsugaya.

She looked breathtaking, wearing a beautiful navy blue dress that matched her eyes.

"Wow, you like stunning"

"Thanks Toshiro" she said, smiling slightly embarrassedly.

He had laid out the food on one of the desks, which he had moved into the middle of the room, a chair sat at either side of it.

She moved over, gave him a quick kiss and sat down. Hitsugaya then poured her out some sake before he sat down nervously, opposite her.

They sat and ate for a while, both were quite apprehensive.

"You're a good cook", she said.

"Oh er…thanks" he said shakily.

"Do…you want more sake" he said before accidentally knocking the bottle over. The liquid spilled over the desk on to Matsumoto's dress. In his panic he then accidentally froze the liquid, so there were trails of frozen sake on her dress.

"Whoops, er …I'm sorry, I'm so sorry" he said, terrified.

Matsumoto burst out laughing, she had never seen her captain look so flustered and panicky before.

"Its fine, its fine" she tried to reassure him.

_Oh God, I've ruined everything, I really suck at this love stuff._

"I'll just change it" she said, removing her dress before Hitsugaya could do anything.

She stood in front of him, in just her underwear, his jaw dropped as he looked at her beautiful, curvy body.

She glanced over at Hitsugaya who seemed to be checking her out, "Maybe I'll just stay like this, eh?" she teased.

_This proves he likes me, I might get more out of this evening than I thought._

She walked towards him and he stood, frozen to the spot.

_Oh God, Oh God, I didn't expect this._

She gave him a devilish smile before she slowly pulled off his captain's cloak.

"Ma…Matsumo..to, What are you…doing?" he asked as she removed his top.

_Wow, that was definitely worth the risk of him killing me for undressing him, _she thought as she stared down at her topless captain.

"Do you…em…work out when you aren't doing paperwork" she asked slyly, staring at his well toned chest muscles and six pack.

_Oh my God, I can't believe she just took my top off. Well, at least she seems to like what she sees._

She placed her hands on his chest and slid them down, feeling his slightly tensed muscles…

The next thing Hitsugaya remembered was light shining through his closed eyes, waking him up. He groaned slightly and went to turn away from the light when he realised he had rolled on top of something. He opened his eyes and saw that he had rolled on top of Matsumoto, at the same time, he suddenly realised that he was naked.

"MATSUMOTOOOO!!" he screamed.

"What, what happened last night" he asked, horrified.

"Wha, oh, nothing, nothing" she said sleepily, rolling over, not realising that he was on top of her because he was so light.

Hitsugaya suddenly found Matsumoto on top of him, crushing him.

"Ma..u…mo…ooo…u…ar….cru...hing…m..e" came his muffled yell.

"Wha…she replied groggily" still not realising that Hitsugaya was trapped beneath her.

She sensed something odd about the mattress, as it seemed to be attempting to push her off.

"What's up with the mattress" she said, hazily, pushing up off the bed.

"Oh, Captain, what are you doing under there?"

He did not respond, and just lay where he was, feeling as if a Double-Decker bus had just fell on him. He coughed before replying "YOU NEARLY CRUSHED ME, AND FOR THE LAST TIME" he lowered his voice, before continuing "Why are you in my bed, why am I…naked" He looked up at her, and with a shock, he whimpered "why are _you_ naked and what the hell happened last night?" he asked, starting to really panic.

_I couldn't have, I would have remembered, I wouldn't have, I would never…go that far._

"Oh, well…" she said, thinking hard, trying to remember.

"We both were a bit tired, and then we went to your room, and then…" she paused, looking cautiously at him, wondering whether to continue

"AND" he added.

"Well, I…er continued what I started, and er took your…trousers off, and your…boxers" she said hurriedly, as though hoping to try and get the worst over with.

"YOU DID WHAT! HOW, HOW COULD YOU?"

"Well to be fair you didn't try and stop me" she reasoned.

"Well what happened then?" he asked, dreading the answer, hoping that this had just been a terrible dream.

"Well I realised that you'd fallen asleep…and…I was so tired I…got in too, next thing I remember was you screaming my name, and then the mattress attacking me, but I think I dreamed that bit."

Hitsugaya quickly dressed, and pulled his captains cloak on.

As she watched him, she suddenly remembered staring down at his naked body as he slept, _I'm definitely going to treasure that memory._

"Well, as long as we didn't…do…anything."

"Nope, nothing happened." She assured him.

As she again thought about her 'treasured memory', she wished that something _had_ happened. _Ah well, I'll just have to give him his own memory to treasure, to make things fair for taking his clothes off..._

Before Hitsugaya could look away, Matsumoto threw the sheets back, revealing her naked body.

He stared for a second, taking in every inch of her slender body, before quickly shielding his eyes.

"Ooops, sorry Captain" she said slyly

"You did that on purpose" he said, his face flushed so deeply that it looked like he'd run a marathon…

Hitsugaya sat in the office doing paperwork, trying to forget everything that had happened, however every time he attempted to fill in the paperwork, the image of a certain naked vice captain kept popping into his mind, blocking all room for thought, except about her.

_Damn her and her sexy body, I just can't concentrate._

"Captain" chirped Matsumoto, as she walked in, fully clothed.

"I think I remember that you had a box of sweets for me if I did the paperwork for a month" she whined.

"What?" he asked, disturbed from his thoughts. "Oh, Matsumoto"

"What's up with you captain?" she asked, her voice full of mock concern. _I know exactly what he's thinking about, and deep down, he probably wants to see it again._

"Anyway, as I was saying, where's my box of sweets?" she demanded.

Although she hadn't actually done the whole months paperwork, he was glad for the excuse for her to leave, before he did something.

"It's in the kitchen" he said, not looking at her, wishing it had been further away.

"YAY CAPTAIN" she cheered, before running over to him and giving him a quick kiss, she then dashed into the kitchen and she savagely ripped open the box of sweets.

She glanced up at him with a look in her eyes, as if she wanted to do the same thing to him.

As Hitsugaya watched, he suddenly had a mental image of her charging toward him, ripping his clothes off.

_I suppose we're gonna end up 'doing it' sooner or later, and by the look on Matsumoto's face, its gonna be sooner, rather than later…_

Matsumoto spent the rest of the day munching her way through the sweets while Hitsugaya tried his best to concentrate on the paperwork. Eventually she walked back into the office, and collapsed on the sofa clutching her stomach.

She groaned loudly. "I'm totally stuffed, I can't eat another thing. Right now, I feel like I never wanna see sweets for the rest of my life."

"I think you've overindulged yourself." He looked back into the kitchen and suddenly realised she had done more than overindulge herself.

"WHAT THE! YOU ATE THE WHOLE BOX ALREADY?"

Matsumoto nodded while groaning a little, and she clutched her stomach tighter.

"I'm surprised you still have teeth after gorging your way through that lot."

_Now that I think about it, no mater how much she eats and drinks, she never gets fat. That's probably cause it all just heads straight to her…breasts._

Hitsugaya finally gave up on the paperwork, and he couldn't concentrate anyway, what with what he found when he woke up, Matsumoto's…lack of clothing, and her constant groaning.

"I'm going to bed"

"Ooooooh, don't leave me" she groaned

"What, just go to bed"

"I don't think I can move"

"What do expect me to do? It's not my fault you stuffed yourself."

"Please Captain, take me to bed"

"WHAT"

"I mean carry me you silly idiot" she said smiling slightly even with the pains in her stomach, as she had seen the look of shock on her captains face"

"I can't lift you, you're far too heavy"

"WHAT, I'M NOT FAT" she roared, scaring the wits out of Hitsugaya

"I…I didn't mean it that way" he said hurriedly" _I forgot that women are sensitive about those sorts of issues._

"OK, OK, I'll carry you" he added, as she continued to glare at him.

She began to smile slightly, which made Hitsugaya worried. _I hope she's not planning revenge for what I said, I better sort this out before she stabs me with Haineko._

"Sure, you _know_ that I really like you"

"like?" she repeated, too late, he had made another, more costly mistake

"But…But…I…I thought you loved me" she whimpered

Before he knew it she had burst in to tears, and she screamed at him to leave her alone.

Back in the safety of his bedroom Hitsugaya wondered how he could apologize. _DAMMIT, WHY AM I SO BAD AT THIS ROMANTIC STUFF, she's never gonna forgive me, I might have to ask someone for advice on this stuff._

He imagined asking various people for advice on his love life,but the look he imagined Ichigo would have if he heard the word 'Toshiro' and 'Love' in the same sentence, put an end to that idea.

He could still see the sadness in her eyes, _She really loves me, I don't know why. Some people may call me a prodigy, but in that area, I'm as dumb as Hanataro._

He finally got to sleep and had an unusual dream about a naked Matsumoto chasing after him to kill him. "Growl, Haineko" she roared. He jerked awake, drenched in sweat in the early hours of the morning, before falling back asleep.

When he woke up the next day, as he started dressing, he distinctively thought he heard someone crying in the room next to him. He didn't see Matsumoto all day, and when he asked Renji if she had been with him, he just said "no", and looked concerned.

Hitsugaya was also starting to worry about Matsumoto, at the end of the day he decided to go and see if she was in her room.

He knocked cautiously "Matsumoto" he said softly

"What! What do you want?" she shouted.

"I er, I wanted to talk, to apologize"

"JUST, GO AWAY AND LEAVE ME ALONE!" she screamed.

"Of course I don't think your fat, and I love you"

She sniffed disbelievingly.

He thought quickly about what he should do next, when a crazy, insane idea came into his head, one, that if he carried out, he might regret. He made up his mind and opened the door into Matsumoto's bedroom.

"I told you to go away, I thought you'd be smart enough to realise what that meant" she said, tears in her eyes. The next thing she knew was that he had closed and locked the door, and his captain's cloak flew over her head. "Captain?" she asked uncertainly, as he ripped off his top. He went to remove his trousers "What are you doing?" she asked cautiously, wondering if it was actually him, or if she was dreaming.

She got up, off the bed, just as Hitsugaya removed his boxers.

_What the hells going on, does he think I'm angry at him because we didn't make out? I suppose it doesn't really matter, I don't mind seeing his naked body._

He jumped on top of her, and used his reiatsu to force her down onto the bed, with him on top of her. "What are you doing" she asked again.

"Proving that I love you" he said simply.

_I really hope nothing goes wrong, but this might cheer her up._

"You don't have to do this you know…only if you want too"

At the look of uncertainty and panic in his face, she felt her heart drop.

But he moved forwards and slowly removed her clothing, with a little help from Matsumoto. He kissed her, and placed his hands around her waist, she reached up and ran one hand through his silver locks and placed the other on his back.

"Matsumoto" he said huskily "I love you", he kissed her again and ran a trail of kisses down her neck.

"Toshiro" she whispered…

"Morning, Captain." Matsumoto whispered softly into Hitsugaya's ear.

"Wha…" he whispered groggily.

"Still tired from last night?"

"Oh, er morning…Rangiku.

"You know, for your first time, you were amazing, are you sure you've never done it before."

Hitsugaya's face flushed and he twisted nervously, but he had a smug grin on his face nonetheless, which Matsumoto didn't notice.

"Come on, that's the best compliment a girl can give a guy!"

"Er, thanks, so erm…am I forgiven?" he asked cautiously.

She smiled cheekily at him "After last night, of course you are"

"I'm sorry for overreacting a bit, I know you love me" she said, as she leaned forward, kissed him and then held him in a tender embrace, holding his body close to hers.

_Well, I suppose it wasn't that bad, she seems to think that I'm good at it, but at least it's over._

"You know why I like hugging you Toshiro?"

"No?" he said uncertainly.

"Its cause when I hold you close to me…I feel safe" she smiled at him, and he smiled back.

"Matsumoto?" called Rukia, "are you in there?" she asked, as she burst through the door Hitsugaya thought he had locked.

"I forgot to tell you, the locks broken" she whispered at him.

She froze at the doorframe and looked at Hitsugaya and Matsumoto, as they lay beside each other, hugging.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! But…But…Hitsugaya…_I love you_" she cried, as Hinamori appeared at the door.

"What's all this noi…SHIRO-CHAN, what are you…but…_I love you_.

This was a bit too much for Hitsugaya to take, _they've both just admitted there in love with me, well, I better straighten things out._

"There's only one person I love, and that's Matsumoto."

Both burst into tears, screamed insults at him, and ran off, slamming the door behind them. Meanwhile Matsumoto was grinning like he had never seen her grin before. "OH, TOSHIRO, I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU JUST SAID THAT IN FRONT OF THEM, OH, YOU'RE SO BRAVE _AND_ ADORABLE. She then began to kiss every inch of him that she could reach before he managed to suppress her.

"Well, it's the truth" he said calmly.

"OH, you're so lovely sometimes, all the time" she corrected, "sometimes I feel like I'm gonna explode with happiness, cause you chose me. I love you _so, so_ much."

"Thanks" Hitsugaya said, feeling a little embarrassed.

_Well, now that Rukia and Hinamori have found out about us, it looks like my troubles, have only just started…_


	3. Chapter 3

**Toshiro's Troubles Part Three**

"I…I can't believe it" sobbed Hinamori, "We've known each other so long and he…he chose…HER" She burst into tears and held her hands to her head, she then collapsed in a heap on her bed.

**Meanwhile…**

Rukia sat on her bed, and looked at a picture of herself, Ichigo, Matsumoto, and Toshiro in the human world. Hitsugaya stood at the edge of the photo, his hands in his pockets, wearing the school uniform of Karakura High, looking as if he didn't want to have his picture taken. She stared at him, in the picture, thinking about how husky he looked. "DAMN YOU TOSHIRO" she suddenly screamed, and she knocked the picture onto the floor.

**A LOT of sobbing later**

Rukia and Hinamori where both so lost in thought about Toshiro that they both bumped into each other.

"What do _you_ want" roared Rukia.

"Oh, well _sor-ry_, miss important Kuchiki house brat." spat Hinamori

"Perhaps I should tell Byakuya what you've just said to me"

"Ooooh, running to your big brother now?" said Hinamori in a mock baby voice

"I'd take you on anytime you ugly idiot" roared Rukia

"How dare you, you're just jealous that I'm the lifelong friend of Hitsugaya." Momo said smugly.

"Yeah, and even after all that, he still didn't choose you, that's all you are to him, a friend"

"He didn't choose you either"

They both glared at each other, their hands twitching, as if both wanted to unsheathe their Zanpakuto and cut off the others head.

"Well, he didn't choose either of us" they said together.

"Wait a minute…" said Rukia "Why are we arguing, we should find a way to get back at that big breasted beast, and win back Toshiro"

"Yeah, and while were at it we can give Hitsugaya a slap for being so stupid" agreed Hinamori

They both smirked nastily. "Let's plan this out well" Rukia said.

"Yeah, she's gonna regret ever touching him" Hinamori said, nodding her agreement.

Ichigo suddenly walked down the corridor and stopped as he saw them both "What are you two plotting" said Ichigo, looking at them suspiciously.

"Nothing" they both said, trying to look innocent.

"Hey, weren't you two fighting over Hitsugaya? I thought you hated each other"

"Well, you thought wrong" said Hinamori.

"Yeah, now leave us alone, we're busy" cried Rukia.

"Jeez, OK" he walked off, and thought about what he had just seen and heard, _I better tell Toshiro, they're plotting revenge on him for something, and I know what Rukia's like when she's angry._

He rushed off to 10th division to warn Hitsugaya.

"Time to see if phase one of the operation has worked" chuckled Rukia.

"I can't believe what a perfect idea we came up with, we make a good team." said Hinamori slyly.

"MATSUMOTO" came a scream from the 10th division office

Rukia and Hinamori sneaked closer to eavesdrop on them.

"What is it captain?" said Matsumoto, looking confused at her angry captain

_What the hell could he be shouting at me for now, I've done all the stupid paperwork_

"I thought you said you wouldn't hide the paperwork anymore, that you would do it" he said dangerously.

"What are you on about, I have done it" said Matsumoto, getting a bit upset now.

"It didn't take you long to back to your old ways again" he growled

"WHAT, HOW DARE YOU" she screamed.

Outside, Hinamori and Rukia giggled, and gave each other a high-five.

"Oh _really_" he said sarcastically, "Then how come there's a huge stack of it stuffed in the drawers in your desk"

"WHAT" she said, before walking over and looking into the drawers herself, only to confirm that it was actually filled with unfinished paperwork"

"But, but…I was sure I'd done all of it"

"OH, that's the best excuse I've ever heard from you"

"Just shut up, and anyway, what were you doing looking through the drawers in _my_ desk?"

"So you don't deny it?"

"Deny WHAT, I did that paperwork!"

"WHAT, just admit it!" he roared.

"I DON'T CARE, THINK WHAT YOU LIKE!!" she screamed back, before walking out.

As she left, she spotted Hinamori and Rukia, laughing their heads off.

"Trouble in paradise Matsumoto?" called over Hinamori, in a voice of mock concern, while Rukia laughed even harder.

Matsumoto stormed past them without saying a word.

_I can't believe that woman, and I thought she'd changed for me, looks like I was wrong, she's as lazy as ever_. Hitsugaya thought angrily. Just then, Ichigo walked in, _here we go, someone to improve my mood, if he calls me Toshiro I'll rip him to pieces._

"Er…Captain, can I have a word?" he asked cautiously, remembering to call him captain. Sensing the chill in the air, he knew he was already angry about something.

_I hope I'm not too late, if only Renji hadn't held me up, forcing me to have a drink with him_.

"What do you want?" he said angrily.

"I have to warn you, that Rukia and Hinamori are up to something. I saw them plotting something earlier".

_Humph, Matsumoto was fast at getting someone to get her out of trouble._

"Yeah, right" he said sarcastically.

"But it's true, and why are you so angry" said Ichigo.

"Oh, did Matsumoto not tell you about that bit?"

"What are you on about" Ichigo said, starting to get worried that he had been too late.

"Look in the desks" he growled

Ichigo walked over and opened the drawers of Matsumoto's desk, to find them stuffed with paperwork.

"She told me she'd never hide the paperwork again and…"

"Hold up a sec" Ichigo broke in.

"What?" Hitsugaya said fiercely.

"DID YOU EVEN LOOK AT THE PAPERWORK BEFORE YOU STARTED YELLING" Ichigo bellowed.

Hitsugaya was taken aback, and Ichigo walked over and thrust a handful of them into his hands.

"Look at the top" he hissed. _Well, I arrived too late, but at least I've managed to fix some of the damage_.

"You see, their addressed to 5th or 13th division, Not 10th. And what two people do we know who fancy you and probably don't want you and Matsumoto to start going out? 5th division…hmm" he said in mock thought, "Hinamori, what about 13th division…Rukia. I thought you were supposed to be smart, a child prodigy? And you got tricked by them?"

"Oh My God, DAMN IT" Hitsugaya roared, smashing his fist into the table.

"I'm sorry, thanks for telling me about this"

"It's not me you need to apologise to" Ichigo stated. "Besides, what's going on between you two?"

"Oh, me and Matsumoto are…er…going out" as he said this he thought he saw Ichigo smirk slightly, "Then Rukia and Hinamori…walked in on us."

"Well, it all makes sense now, but you better hurry up and find her. Oh and be careful, I don't know about Hinamori, but Rukia can be really vindictive, so watch out."

"OK, and thanks again, Ichigo" said Hitsugaya as he left.

"Good Luck…Toshiro"

Hitsugaya twitched angrily, before replying, "OK…Strawberry"

_Damn him _Ichigo thought_, now he knows about that nickname too, my name means protector, not strawberry, but I suppose, I did call him Toshiro, and he hates it when people disrespect his title._

Hitsugaya searched desperately for Matsumoto, but he didn't have any luck. Tired after running around all day, he slowly trudged back to the office. He was just at the start of the corridor to the office when Rukia appeared from nowhere. _Time to initiate phase two _she thought. She glanced at Hinamori behind his back, who was keeping a lookout.

"Toshiro, what were you and Matsumoto shouting about earlier" she said, desperately trying to initiate a conversation with him.

"ITS CAPTAIN HITSUGAYA TO YOU, and it's none of your business, now go away." He went to push past her when Hinamori suddenly gave her the signal.

She suddenly grabbed him and pulled him forwards, and they both fell to the floor, with him on top of her, just as Matsumoto walked around the corner.

"What are you…" Hitsugaya said before Rukia cut in "Oh Toshiro", before hugging him and attempting to kiss him.

"H…Hitsu…HITSUGAYA…WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, IS THIS HOW YOU'RE GETTING BACK AT ME FOR SUPPOSEDLY NOT DOING SOME STUPID PAPERWORK" yelled Matsumoto.

"Matsumoto, It's not what it looks like" Hitsugaya said desperately.

"OH, It's exactly what it looks like from where I'm standing" she yelled before storming off, her eyes filled with tears.

Hitsugaya threw Rukia off him, and stared at her and Hinamori.

"You…two" he growled, barely able to speak with rage. "I expected no less from you, Rukia, from what Ichigo told me, you're a vindictive cow. But you…Hinamori…I thought you were supposed to be my friend…"

Both their smiles of success faded away as they stared at him, Hinamori had never seen him this angry, he was angrier than he had ever been in his whole life.

He reached up and unsheathed Hyorinmaru, both flinched, and stepped back.

Reiatsu burned around his body, as he opened his eyes, they could see a glimmer of white in them.

They both sprinted away, and got as far as the outside of the building before he easily encased them both in a layer of ice. Both were frozen in bizarre positions, mid-sprint. He then encased these unusual ice sculptures in a large sphere of ice, to make sure that they wouldn't thaw out for at least a day. One thing he hadn't forgotten was that large spherical objects didn't tend to stay where they were, he smirked a little as he saw it roll off, in the direction of the forest.

But then he remembered Matsumoto, now he knew what it felt like to not be believed. It looked like their relationship was in a bad way because of them two. _DAMN THEM, I hate them so much, if they've ruined this…I'll kill them._

After searching all night for her, he had finally collapsed on the office sofa. When he woke up, he rubbed his neck, which ached, because he had slept on the couch. He stood up and decided to start looking for her again…

It was late in the afternoon, when he finally returned to the office, having failed to find her again. As he sat down, the door of the office opened, Hitsugaya sat up quickly, but then slumped back into his seat when he realised it wasn't Matsumoto.

"Oh…hi…Ichigo" he said, he suddenly noticed that Ichigo had a black eye. "What happened…to you?"

Ichigo could see that he was really depressed, "Oh, _someone_ said that I thought Rukia was a vindictive cow" he paused, and looked over at the thoroughly miserable Toshiro "…and she punched me"

"Mm" Toshiro whispered, getting angry, even at just hearing her name.

"I…I tried talking to Matsumoto toda…"

"WHAT, WHERE IS SHE?" Hitsugaya cut in.

"Well, I tried to explain, but she's still really angry" he said anxiosly

"Where is she?" he repeated.

"Last I saw, she was in her room"

"OK" he said as he dashed out the door.

"Be careful" Ichigo advised as he left.

Hitsugaya knocked gently on Matsumoto's bedroom door, but there was no response, and he didn't hear anything inside the room. He knocked again, "Rangiku" he called softly.

_I know she probably doesn't want to speak to me right now, but I have to explain._

He forced the door open and walked inside. "GET OUT" roared Matsumoto, making Hitsugaya jump a foot in the air.

"Matsumoto, please let me expl…"

"GET OUT" she repeated dangerously, her hand moving towards her Zanpakuto.

"I DON'T NEED YOU TO EXPLAIN ANYHING. I must say, it didn't take you long to find someone younger"

"MATSUMOTO, JUST LISTEN TO ME" he said, raising his own voice.

"Hinamori and Rukia are trying to break us up"

"Yea, I've already heard that from Ichigo, I suppose you sent him round here."

"NO! That paperwork before, I was wrong, Rukia and Hinamori had planted it there."

"OK, Whatever" she said sarcastically.

"Fine, come with me and I'll prove it" he left her room and walked towards the office, and was surprised that she did actually follow him.

He walked over to her desk and opened it, he pulled out a small pile of them and showed them to her. "See, their Rukia and Hinamori's divisions"

If Hitsugaya had thought that this would alleviate her anger, he had thought wrong.

"YOU, JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS! I TOLD YOU I WASN'T LYING, BACK TO MY OLD WAY'S YOU SAID, SHOWS HOW MUCH YOU TRUST ME" she screamed.

"But _I'm_ telling the truth too, Hinamori was keeping a lookout for you, and when you came down the corridor, she signalled to Rukia, and she pulled me to the ground".

"WELL NOW YOU KNOW HOW IT FEELS, NOT TO BE BELIEVED" she said, about to storm out of the office, when she saw him start to cry, for the first time in her memory.

Hitsugaya hadn't cried since he was a small child, living with his Grandmother, but he had never felt so worried or scared than he did now.

"Please" he said, tears running his face, from his light blue eyes, "I'm sorry, I was wrong, don't let them two ruin what we have, and I do trust you, with my life"

She stared down at him, _even though I wanna kill him, I just want to make him stop crying, GOD I wish he didn't look so dam huggable _she thought.

"I'm so, so sorry, please forgive me…I'll let you off with the paperwork for as long as you want" At this point Matsumoto almost smiled.

_Well this is an opportunity I don't want to lose. He could never cheat on me anyway, he's far too serious and committed and…huggable?! What am I thinking, anyway, I think I've punished him enough. _She stared into his anxious panicked face, before turning away, she could almost see the look of desperation and fear in his eyes as she had done this.

"I'm sorry, Toshiro, but…you're gonna have to let me off with the paperwork for a very long time" she said, before turning around and smiling at him.

"What? You mean, you'll forgive me?" he cried.

"Yes" she said, and she walked forwards, and tenderly wiped away his tears, before hugging him

As if things couldn't get any better, Hitsugaya spotted Hinamori and Rukia walking past the office, as they spotted them hugging, they looked disgusted and miserable that their plan had failed, before walking off.

"Oh, Toshiro…one more thing"

"Yes" said Hitsugaya anxiously

"Don't ever cry again" she said, looking down at him

"I won't, because you're with me" he replied

As usual, Hitsugaya was sitting, doing the paperwork, which strangely didn't take up much more time even though he was doing Matsumoto's as well. He supposed that was because he almost always did her paperwork anyway, to keep her out of trouble, although now, he couldn't shout at her for not doing it.

She had gone off somewhere, _probably drinking no doubt, with Hisagi and Rengi_.

Suddenly Ichigo came in, _Hmm, I wonder why Ichigo keeps visiting me, doesn't he have anywhere better to go?_

"Hi Tosh, I mean, Captain"

"Oh, hey Ichigo" he replied dully.

"How did it go, are you and Matsumoto ok?"

"What, oh, yeah, were fine now."

"So, are you…er, busy" he said, eyeing a massive stack of paperwork, almost the same height as he was.

"Oh, that's the finished pile" Hitsugaya said, noticing where he was looking.

"How can you do so much in one day?" he said, looking appalled "And I thought homework was bad…"

"Well, you get used to it after a while, I could sign my name in my sleep."

Ichigo chuckled a little before saying "So, er are you almost finished?"

"Oh, er, just a few more" he said, looking at the small pile. _I wonder why he keeps asking me if I'm busy. Something strange is going on, me and Ichigo don't usually get along _he thought, as he filled in the remaining forms.

Ichigo stood, nervously, shifting his weight from one foot to another, "I was just wondering if you…wanted to have a drink again"

Hitsugaya had a fleeting vision of a frost filled bar, and a glass of frozen water in his hands. "Em". _Well I suppose, I do owe him for helping save my relationship, after all he was the one that warned me and showed me that Matsumoto had done the paperwork. _"Ok" he said. He saw Ichigo grin, a bit too happily, _Maybe I should add someone else to that growing love triangle. _He shivered and looked up at him, he had been staring at him the whole time he had been doing the paperwork. _Why do I keep thinking such horrible thoughts, this hasn't got anything to do with you, does it Hyorinmaru?_

_**What, me? Hey, I'm the sane one here, if you're looking for someone to blame, it should be Matsumoto, **_said Hyorinmaru, appearing from his subconscious.

_What!?_

_**Well, you've changed a lot since you've met her, and some things for the better.**_

_I…suppose. Wait a minute, No it's been before that, cause I was thinking about it at the bar and then when I flash stepped beside…_

_**Ukitake**_

_Hey it is you_

_**I'm just helping you along, making you realise things you wouldn't normally think about.**_

_Go away, I don't need you putting bad thoughts in my head right now_

_**Whatever you say master…but one more thing, if it weren't for me, you and Matsumoto wouldn't be together.**_

_What! _But Hyorinmaru had already returned to his subconscious, _stupid dragon_ he thought, he looked up at Ichigo, who was staring at him with mild concern. He had been so deep in a thought conversation with his inner soul that he had forgotten that Ichigo was there.

"Are you ok? Your eyes were all glazed over"

"I was just, thinking" he said, avoiding his gaze.

"Well, let's go before its midnight" he said, walking to the door.

Hisugaya stood up and followed him out.

**At the pub**

"Oh, er I forgot to say, but, thanks for saving my relationship" Hitsugaya said quietly.

"No problem" Ichigo replied, taking a sip of his sake.

Hitsugaya felt bad, for asking this, but he asked anyway, "Erm, so why did you er, want to have a drink with me, I thought you went out drinking with Rengi, and stuff" he said, not wanting to say Rukia.

Ichigo looked a bit uncomfortable "Well, me and Rukia, have fallen out, and, well I know you don't, really get on with me, but I don't mind you, besides you never seem to do much, and you always seem to be on your own. I just thought it would be nice if you had a friend." He looked anxiously at Hitsugaya as he said this.

_**Well, as long as its just friends.**__ GO AWAY HYORINMARU, I TOLD YOU NOT TO DO THAT!! _He thought angrily

Hitsugaya noticed a panicked look in Ichigo's face before realising that he had an angry expression on his face, because he had been shouting at Hyorinmaru in his head.

"It's nothing" he said quickly. _I didn't realise he could be thoughtful, so he just wants a new friend. Well he has been being nice to me, and I definitely owe him one._

"Well, yeah, I guess we could be friends, after all, I do owe you"

Ichigo smiled, before nervously asking, "In seriousness, why do you get…ice…with your drink when you could make it yourself?"

He glared at him for a second before replying "Well, I may be good at freezing things, but, I'm not very good at doing it in small proportions, so I'd probably just freeze the whole thing."

"Have you ever tried doing it?"

"Once" he said, with a grimace on his face

"What happened?" Ichigo asked eagerly

"I…I…froze the whole room" he said quietly.

Ichigo burst into laughter, Hitsugaya couldn't help it, as he smiled too.

"But it was ages ago, when I was living with my grandmother. It was a really hot day, and my drink had gone all warm…" he said, before trailing off, while Ichigo continued to laugh.

Suddenly, someone came into the bar that made Ichigo stop laughing, and dive for cover under the table. As Kenpachi looked around the bar, he spotted a familiar face, and walked towards them.

"Well, if it isn't the lil ice captain" Hitsugaya twitched a little, but, as it was Kenpachi, he didn't say anything. "We made a good team, killing Aizen didn't we? I weakened him and you gave the final blow. But hey, now I really wanna fight you, to see how strong you really are"

Hitsugaya shook a little, but otherwise stood up, and did not show his fear or nervousness. "It's not going to be a fight to the death is it?"

"Of course not" growled Kenpachi "If I had a fight to the death with everyone, there'd be no one left to fight"

Kenpachi suddenly spotted a flash of orange, before looking under the table.

"ICHIGO!" he roared in delight.

"You ran away last time, and when I want a rematch, I get it."

Ichigo gulped and backed away.

Hitsugaya suddenly decided that now was the time to repay his debt, _well, as long as it's not a fight to the death, I should be ok._ "Hey, weren't you gonna fight me, it's rude to cancel a fight"

Kenpachi turned to face him, "You really wanna fight, don't you lil captain"

Hitsugaya gave a small nod to Ichigo, who knew that it was his opportunity to run.

"Then after you, I'll fight Ichigo" he growled, turning round to look at him, only to realise he was gone "WHAT THE HELL" he roared.

He turned back, to see that Hitsugaya had also disappeared. "NO, I LOST BOTH MY FIGHTS" he yelled, before slamming his fist into the table, crushing it in one hit into a pile of splintered wood.

**10****th**** Division Office**

"Phew, that was close" Ichigo panted, "I've never flash stepped so fast in my life, I probably would have beat Yoruichi".

"Yeah, now you owe me one" Hitsugaya said, with a smile on his face.

"WHAT, surely we're evens now"

"Nope" Toshiro said with a sly smile "Asking Kenpachi for a fight is worth two, he's probably gonna hunt me down now, like what he does to you"

"Yeah, but I got injured for warning you, cause you told Rukia I thought she was a vindictive cow" he growled.

"Yeah, well I'm probably gonna be injured in the future, and a bit more than a black eye"

"Suppose" Ichigo admitted.

"Well, it was an…_interesting_ evening" Hitsugaya said, yawning

"Yeah, we should do it again. Except, maybe we should do it in the real world, Every time I go to that bar Kenpachi's always there, someone must tell him when I'm in that bar or something, or maybe it's just bad luck"

"Yeah" agreed Hitsugaya, "Besides, I think Matsumoto might enjoy a break in the real world, I could make a holiday out of it."

"Ok, Great" said Ichigo, turning to leave, however, at the door he turned back to Hitsugaya, "If you do come, watch out for my sister Karin, she fancies you" he said slyly, and with a grin on his face, he left.

_**It's not a love triangle anymore, I think it's a love chain or something now, or spider's web, with your delectable little face in the centre, I mean, more than three people wanna bang y… **_

_SHUT UP_, Hitsugaya cut in, before Hyorinmaru could finish the sentence, he could almost see the grin on the great dragons face.

_**Jeez, sorry, just stating the obvious**_

_Whatever, anyway, I wanted to ask you, what did you mean that it's thanks to you that me and Matsumoto are together._

_**Well, it was me who subconsciously made you start to think about her in, that way, if you know what I mean…**_

_Just get on with it_

_**Fine, anyway, I also helped you to tell Matsumoto that you loved her, by giving you some of my courage, and…**_

_What?_

_**Remember that crazy idea you had, the one that led to you and Matsumoto doi…**_

_YES, I DO REMEMBER_

_**Well, that was my idea, and you carried it out perfectly**_, said Hyorinmaru quickly, and before Hitsugaya could berate him, he had disappeared back into his subconscious. _Ugh, so it was Hyorinmaru who made me…make out with her, I might have known that I would never come up with such an idea. He probably 'lent me his courage' or something stupid again, and made me confident enough to do it, _he thought angrily.

"Captain" called out Matsumoto, as she suddenly walked into the office.

"So, how was the paperwork" she said, walking forwards and sitting on his desk.

"Fine, I was wondering if you wanted to go to the real world, for a holiday". He asked nervously.

"OH, what a brilliant idea captain" she exclaimed excitedly.

"I'm sure I can get some of the officers to cover the paperwork duty"

"YAY CAPTAIN!" she said, and she bent over and kissed him.

"Well, we'll leave tomorrow, I just have to go inform the officers."

**The Real World**

"Back in the old gigai's, eh Toshiro" Matsumoto called happily.

"Yeah" he replied

They finally reached the other side of the Senkaimon.

"So, where are we staying?" Matsumoto asked.

"At Orihime's place again"

"YAY, I haven't seen her in ages, and we get on so well!" she cried happily, clapping her hands together and then hugging Hitsugaya.

"Well, Ichigo arranged it with her, and Orihime was glad of some company"

"Oh, since when did you arrange this?" she asked, confusion on her face. "I didn't think you and Ichigo got on"

"Well it was, after our…argument…he was the one that warned me about 'their' plot" he said, not wanting to say their names. "So, we sort of became friends and organised it."

"Aww, Toshiro, you've finally got some friends" she said slyly.

"WHAT, I've always had friends" he said, folding his arms and his usual frown appearing on his face.

They then set off in the direction of Orihime's house. _Last time I was in the real world was when the Arrancar where attacking._ They soon encountered the familiar house and knocked on the front door…

The sun was beating down, and according to Orihime her school was off for 'Summer Holidays', so her and Matsumoto spent most of the morning together, while Hitsugaya unpacked his belongings.

"Wow, you look so…so…_sexy_, Toshiro" Matsumoto said mischievously, looking him up and down, as he walked in to the living room. He blushed and looked away, he was wearing a black jacket and t-shirt and a pair of black cargo trousers.

"You know, black matches perfectly with your lovely silvery hair" she said, eyeing the contrast between his black clothes and snowy white hair.

"Well, er, I'll leave you two to catch up, I'm going to Ichigo's for a while" he said.

"Awww, leaving so soon? I've hardly had time to admire your handsome little outfit" she moaned, a sad look in her eyes, "Don't be gone too long" she said, as she gave him a swift kiss, and he left.

It was nice to be outdoors, somehow it seemed warmer inside, a light breeze ruffled his hair as he walked towards Ichigo's house. When he knocked, it was a familiar face at the door, "Oh, hi Karin, is Ichigo in?"

She eyed him up, in much the same way Matsumoto had done, he suddenly remembered Ichigo's warning that she fancied him. He shifted uncomfortably as she let him in.

"I think he's in his room" she said absent-mindedly, still gawping at him slightly.

"Ok" he said, and he made to quickly get away, she suddenly snapped out of it and said "So, how's elementary school?" He stopped, with one foot on the stairs…

As Ichigo sat in his room, sweating form the extreme heat, he suddenly felt a beautiful coolness fill the room. He sat up, wondering what it could be, but there was no breeze entering through the window. The coolness suddenly started to get a bit too cold, and his breath turned to mist in front of him, he shivered slightly. _What the hells going on? _He thought…

"How many times" Hitsugaya said in a dangerous whisper, "DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU I'M NOT AN ELEMENTARY STUDANT" he roared. Karin stepped back, but smirked a little, she seemed to like teasing him as much as Matsumoto.

"What's going on?" Ichigo suddenly said, at the top of the stairs, "Oh, Toshiro, I thought it was you"

"To…Tosh…TOSHIRO, IT'S CAPTAIN HITSUGAYA! WHY DOES YOUR FAMILY LOVE ANNOYING ME SO MUCH" he screamed. There was a cold silence, a very cold silence. "Sorry, Captain" Ichigo and Karin said together.

_I wish I'd stayed at Orihime's, his whole family are so annoying_ he thought, as he walked up into Ichigo's room.

_**Oh, so you wanted to stay at Orihime's place?**_

_What's that supposed to mean?_

_**Secretly you'd rather have Matsumoto and Orihime, cooing over your 'sexy little outfit', than waste time here with Ichigo**_

_Shut up and leave me alone, I'm on holiday here ok!_

_**A holiday that you're spending with two girls which have the biggest bre…**_

_GO…AWAY!!_

_**You're luckier than you think, master, **_Hyorinmaru said, before disappearing.

Hitsugaya had just sat down on Ichigo's bed, when someone spoke, roughly were his feet were. He looked down to see what it was and he saw a small stuffed toy lion.

"Hi, I'm Kon. What's up with you whitey? You look kind of angry"

Ichigo had to work hard not to burst out laughing, and he looked at Hitsugaya who seemed as if he was about to explode with anger.

He grabbed Kon by the throat and picked him up, "Is this yours?" he said, trying to remain calm.

"Don't listen to him, he's just a stupid mod soul" Ichigo said nervously, trying to calm him down.

Hitsugaya unceremoniously tossed Kon across the room, and he slammed against the wall.

"So, how is it, staying at Orihime's place?" Ichigo asked. At the mention of Orihime, Kon's ears perked up slightly.

"It's ok, Matsumoto seems to be enjoying it" Hitsugaya said.

"What" burst out Kon, "Matsumoto is visiting Orihime again…what a forbidden garden…" he whispered, his eyes glazing over.

Hitsugaya raised his eyebrows at Ichigo, who just rolled his eyes. Within an instant, Toshiro had frozen Kon in a block of ice.

"I'm sorry, he's always as perverted as that, I try to ignore him" Ichigo said.

_Kon is nearly as bad as Hyorinmaru _thought Hitsugaya…

Late in the afternoon Hitsugaya returned to Orihime's place, the sun hung low in the sky. He wasn't sure whether to have dinner at Ichigo's, or Orihime's, because it was either have Ichigo's insane dad annoy him, along with the rest of them, or eat some crazy food that Orihime would make. He had eventually decided to eat at Orihime's, where there was the likelihood that the food wouldn't be turned into ice.

As he thought about the reason why he had decided to go to Orihime's for dinner, he thought that Hyorinmaru also probably subconsciously told him to go.

_I can't believe you can alter my decisions_

_**Yeah well, I'm a sword, I've got nothing better to do**_

_So you decide to toy around with my thoughts?_

_**As I said before, I'm just helping you along, allowing you to lead a happier, more pleasure filled life.**_

_More like you're trying to live through me, I'm just glad you can't actually make me do anything. God knows what you'd make me do._

_**All I'm doing is telling you to do stuff that secretly, deep down inside, you want to do. Its not as if I'm telling you to do something you don't want to, besides think of all those times that I've helped you out in battle, beating one of the Bount, the Arrancar, killing Ichimaru and Aizen. We've been through so much together, and it's thanks to me that you lived during those battles.**_

_If you'd stop being so sick, and act like the noble dragon you're supposed to._

_**Hey, I'm just relaying to you what's going on in your inner soul. **_He said, placing an emphasis on the word 'your'.

_**You keep your thoughts and emotions all locked away, live a little, ok, that's all I'm trying to make you do.**_

_Fine, just less of the annoying stuff_

_**Ok, master.**_

"Oh, Toshiro, you're just in time for dinner" called Matsumoto happily, hugging him as soon as he walked through the door. "What are we having?" he asked uncertainly.

"Chicken and Meatballs with rice" _Cant she make 'normal' food_. _It doesn't sound that bad though._

"Tomorrow, me and you are going out shopping" she said, her face filled with delight.

"WHAT, NO!" he exclaimed. Her face fell a little, before she replied "You think you have a choice" she said deviously.

He glared at her for a moment before they walked into the dining room. Orihime dished out three plates. "Wha, What is this" He asked, staring down at the dish in front of him, "Chicken, meatballs and rice with chocolate sauce" said Orihime happily. "Oooh, chocolate sauce, what a great addition" exclaimed Matsumoto. They both started eating, Hitsugaya stared down at the food and poked it with his fork, before cautiously taking a mouthful. Orihime looked over as he did, he chocked, but forced himself to swallow.

"How is it?" she asked nervously"

Being the thoughtful person he was, he didn't want to upset her "It's lovely" he said, retching slightly. He took another mouthful of the putrid dish, a shiver running down his spine. _How the hell am I going to get out of this, _he thought desperately.

"Em, I'm not very hungry" he said, standing up, attempting to get as far away from the putrid dish as he could.

"Aww, at least have some dessert with us" Matsumoto pleaded, having already finished her meal. "I got something special, just for you" she said, winking at him. She walked into the kitchen and came back in carrying a plate, "Watermelons" Hitsugaya exclaimed happily.

She set the plate of sliced watermelons in front of him, and pulled his unfinished plate of the rotten food towards herself, "I'll finish yours off" she said. Hitsugaya ate the watermelons hungrily, it had been ages since he had had them.

"So what's for dessert Orihime" called Matsumoto

"Apples with whipped cream and tomato sauce" she said cheerfully.

As she went in to the kitchen to prepare it, Matsumoto turned to Hitsugaya, "You know, for someone who isn't hungry, you sure ate those watermelons quickly" she whispered slyly to him.

He looked away, his face flushed a little, "Aww, you're such a gentlemen, telling her you liked it" she said, stroking his face with her finger.

"I'm going to have a shower" he said, standing up, and leaving the table, "Ok, see you in bit" she called, as he left.

He took a towel from his suitcase and walked into the bathroom and closed the door.

He undressed and stepped into the shower, goose bumps forming on his skin. He enjoyed the cold shower, it was like a gift after the cruel heat of the day. Hitsugaya generally disliked summer, and scorching hot days. That was way he couldn't wait for the winter to come, when it was always nice and cool.

He stepped out, grabbed the towel and had just started to dry himself when Matsumoto walked in. "MATSUMOTO! What are you doing, I'm not wearing anything" he gasped, pulling the towel tight around himself.

"Oh, come on Toshiro, its not as if I haven't seen you naked before" she teased, tugging at the towel mischievously.

To Hitsugaya, that had felt like he was a different person when he had done it, _This is all Hyorinmaru's fault, I guess I'm still too nervous about stuff like this. That must mean that he did actually 'lend me his courage' or whatever, to give me the confidence to do it. But she thinks I did it myself…I'll have to tell her _he thought desperately.

"Ma…Matsumoto" he whispered, as she ran a trail of kisses down his chest, her soft hands sliding down his waist. "I, I don't think I'm ready" he said backing away. "Toshiro?" she asked uncertainly, a look of confusion on her face.

"The…the last time we did it…Hyorinmaru…helped me along"

"What?" she asked, starting to worry.

"I'm not confident enough…I'm not ready…" he said, looking anywhere but at Matsumoto's crestfallen face.

She suddenly pulled him into a soft embrace, holding him close, she whispered gently into his ear, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to push you, we don't have to do anything until you're ready. There's no rush, I can wait, believe me, I waited a long time before I was ready to even admit that I loved you, so this might take even longer, but I don't mind, I'd rather you did it of your own will, rather than Hyorinmaru bullying you into doing it."

"Thanks" he said quietly, tears forming on his eyes "Sorry"

"Ssshhh" she said, rubbing his back gently, "you've got nothing to be sorry about, it's me who should be sorry, I think I pushed you to much, _I'm sorry."_

Tears slowly slid down his face, "Thank you".

"Aw, now what have I told you about crying" she said "Don't you listen to Hyorinmaru, from now on, you do what you want, I won't think any less of you if you don't want to do things, I'm a patient person, even though you probably wouldn't believe it" she smiled. She stood up and went back to the living room.

_I can't believe how nice she was about it, I don't have to worry now_

_**Aww, how nice**_

_Shut up, I can't believe you made me do stuff_

_**Fine, I'm sorry**_

_Promise me, in seriousness, that you will never influence my judgment again._

…_**Whatever you say master…I promise not to, alter your perspective again. But what am I supposed to do now?**_

_Just help me in battle, and don't be a hindrance to my subconscious._

_**Ok…well you better have some fights soon, I'm gonna be bored out of my mind now…well…see you in battle master…**_

Hitsugaya walked, fully dressed into the living room, and sat beside a yawning Matsumoto. "Oh, I'm so tired" she said as she yawned again. "OH, I forgot to say Toshiro, you're not gonna sleep on the roof again are you? She asked nervously. "There's only one room though" she added cautiously.

"Hitsugaya thought carefully about it (making sure Hyorinmaru was sticking to his promise) before saying "Well, we could just sleep in the same bed."

"You sure?" she questioned, "Yeah."

"OK, I'll just go get changed, I'll tell you when I'm done" she called, as she entered the bedroom.

A few minutes later she called out, and he entered the bedroom, she was already lying in bed. Hitsugaya grabbed his pyjamas. "Do you want me to cover my eyes" she teased. He glared at her before taking off his clothes, he was left wearing just his boxers, and he then quickly put his pyjamas on.

_No matter how many times I see that body, I just want to grab him, _she thought.

He turned off the light and climbed into bed, rather nervously, sitting at the edge of the bed with his back to her. Suddenly Matsumoto snuggled up to him, he jerked a little in surprise as he felt her arm slip around his chest. 

She held him tenderly to her, "What are you doing?" he asked, as he felt her warm body close to his. "Just snuggling up to you, I told you before, when I hold you, it makes me feel safe. Night Captain." She whispered.

He placed his hand on top of the one she had placed around his chest, "Night, Matsumoto" he whispered.


	4. Chapter 4

**Toshiro's Troubles Part Four**

Hitsugaya woke up in the middle of the night to find Matsumoto moaning in her sleep, and thrashing a little bit. "No…Toshiro" she groaned, twitching a little.

Hitsugaya looked confusedly at her, "Matsumoto" he said quietly, shaking her softly. "AAH" she said as she jerked awake, "Wha…Oh Toshiro" she said, starting to cry.

"Are you ok" he asked uncertainly.

"Oh, I had such a horrible dream, I don't ever want to lose you" she sobbed.

"It's ok" he said, trying to reassure her, but she continued to cry. He sidled up to her and hugged her tightly, "It was just a bad dream."

"I'm sorry. I'm just being stupid" she said.

He gently brushed away her tears, "Don't worry about it" he said, and he embraced her again, he could feel her body shaking a little, out of fear, but she began to relax in his arms. "I don't know what I'd do without you" she whispered.

"The paperwork?" he said, trying to cheer her up.

She laughed a little, and they fell asleep in each others arms.

When Hitsugaya woke the next day, he had completely forgotten what Matsumoto had planned. "Ready to go shopping" she said, as they sat around the table eating breakfast."

"What, why do I have to go, why don't you and Orihime want to go together" he asked

"She's going away for the rest of the week, she's left us in charge of the house"

"Oh, where are you going?" he asked Orihime as she walked in.

"Me and Tatsuki-chan are going on a short holiday" she replied happily. "Besides, it'll give you two more time to spend together" she said.

"But why do I have to go shopping, I don't want to buy anything" he pleaded.

"I need you" she said, before taking a mouthful of cereal.

"For what?" he asked uncertainly, hoping it wouldn't be too bad a job.

"Fo pov-eh-cuon" she said, her mouth packed with food.

"What language was that" he asked, she swallowed, before smiling.

"For protection. You're not gonna leave me all on my own in the real world?" she asked shrewdly, knowing the answer.

"Fine, but you should be able to take care of yourself" he then turned to Orihime "Don't worry, I'll make sure she doesn't burn the place down while you're gone"

Orihime laughed, while Matsumoto looked as if she wanted to run him through with Haineko.

After a quick goodbye to Orihime, Hitsugaya reluctantly followed Matsumoto to the shopping centre. _I doubt that she really wants me here for protection. _He suddenly remembered something which made him have a horrible thought. _OH GOD NO, if she brought me here to find me another 'sexy little outfit' I'll kill her. I'm not trying on anything, who knows what she'd try and make me wear._

"Ahh, here we are then" Matsumoto said, with a grin on her face as she looked at the large shopping mall. Hitsugaya looked up too, in disgust and anger at having been dragged here.

At first he thought it wasn't going to be too bad, Matsumoto browsed through various shops, with him following along behind. Eventually he thought it would be safer not to go into the shop with her, because she seemed to have finished looking for clothes for herself. After a while, she appeared at the entrance to the shop, where Toshiro was casually leaning against one of the display windows. She seemed to have gained a few additional bags of purchases, it was then, as he had thought, that Matsumoto spent the rest of the day attempting to get him to try out some new clothes, with which he blatantly refused. However Matsumoto was not one to give up easily.

His usual frown on his face, as she dragged him from store to store, looking at some simply horrid clothes that Hitsugaya felt he would rather die, than be seen wearing.

"Come on Captain" she said, looking into his stubborn face, a face that clearly said 'No'. "Pleeaassee" she said, fluttering her eyelashes, "For me?" he shook his head, but Matsumoto decided it was time for force.

She grabbed him around the waist and threw him into the changing room, "I'm not putting it on!" he said indignantly, as she held out a horrible salmon pink t-shirt.

"If you don't put it on, I'll do it for you" she said dangerously.

_I knew I shouldn't have come here _he thought irritably.

To show him that she was serious she began to remove his jacket, "Matsumoto, as your superior officer, I order you not to…" but she had already removed his jacket and T-shirt, and she forced the horrible pink T-shirt on to him. His face was twisted in a grimace of disgust, as he saw himself reflected in the mirror.

His hair was messed up as she forced the t-shirt off him again. "No, I don't think that really suits you" she exclaimed.

"I CAN TAKE IT OFF MYSELF, I DON'T NEED YOU DRESSING ME, I'M NOT A KID!" he roared angrily.

Unperturbed by his outburst, she then walked out of the changing room, no doubt to find something even worse.

_That's it, I'm leaving _he thought furiously.

As Matsumoto returned to the changing rooms, she thought she could sense a deep chill, with every step she took closer to it. "Oh, Oh, now he's mad". She walked in and he pushed forcefully past her, and out of the shop. _Whoops, I forgot he's so damn sensitive about being treated like a child._

He stormed out of the shop, to get as far away from Matsumoto as he could, _Damn women, dressing me up, forcing me to put stupid clothes on, treating me like a kid._

He reached the coolness of the outside air, and walked into a nearby park were he slumped angrily into a bench.

"Toshiro, Toshiro, where are you" Matsumoto called worriedly, she sprinted out of the shop to look for him, but he was nowhere to be seen. She searched for hours, but finally gave up, as darkness began to fall. I guess I'll just have to go home, maybe he'll be there.

She walked through the dark streets, starting to panic, _I hope he's at the house_.

Suddenly she was thrown to the ground as a man jumped on top of her. She landed painfully, "Wha…" a large hand covered her mouth. "Hello pretty" said a deep, gruff voice. She squirmed a little, but he was too heavy to throw off in her gigai.

There was suddenly a grunt above her and the weight was lifted off her back. "What th…" came the gruff voice again, before there was a roar and the man collapsed on the ground.

"STAY AWAY, OR I'LL KILL YOU!" roared a familiar voice. A pair of small soft hands tenderly pulled her into a standing position. "Are you ok?" Toshiro said nervously"

"Oh Toshiro" she said, collapsing into his arms, "I'm so sorry" He picked up her shopping, and gently pulled her in the direction of the house, and they went inside. "I told you I needed you for protection" she sobbed, "I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't came.

"Sshh, its ok" he said, depositing the shopping, and moving over to hug her. He rubbed her back and she calmed down a little. "Thank you Toshiro, you're my hero" she said.

All anger about the shopping incident was gone, he wanted to comfort Matsumoto and make her feel safe, not berate her about treating him like a kid. "It's ok, you're safe now" he whispered, hugging her tighter.

"I love you" she cried.

He pulled back, to see tears running down her cheeks, he kissed her warmly, and held her tight, to comfort her.

Within about an hour, Hitsugaya had managed to make Matsumoto turn into her old, cheerful self again. "When you're about I always feel safe." She said.

"I almost forgot, I got you something" she said cheerfully.

"Wh…What is it?" he asked nervously, eyeing the bag in her hands with much trepidation.

She pulled out a rather cool looking pair of black jeans, and a nice white jumper. "Well I know that winter is you're favourite time of year, so I decided to get you some nice clothes to keep you warm in the winter, I hope you like them" she said nervously.

"Thanks, they're great!" he said cheerfully.

"Really?" she asked, surprised.

"Yeah, looks like you've got good taste after all" he said slyly

She glared at him for a moment, "Well, thanks" she said.

She went in to have a quick shower, while he tried on his new clothes. When she came out, she inspected him closely. "You, look great with them on…but I think you'd look even better without them" she teased, winking.

She walked into the bedroom and turned around, to find him leaning against the doorframe. "Why don't we find out" he said cheekily, and for once, teasing her. _At least Hyorinmaru's sticking to his promise, these are my own decisions._

_**Yes, and for he first time in your pitiful life, you're finally making the right ones**_ Hyorinmaru interjected, _**I'm proud of you master, you go for it**_

Hitsugaya smirked inwardly before throwing his jumper at Matsumoto, "It's too warm to wear in this weather anyway" he said, walking up to her.

"Captain?" she asked, once again finding herself staring at his well toned chest. "Is Hyorin…"

"No" he cut in.

She slowly reached up, and slipped off her top, her bra the only thing restraining her ample breasts. "These clothes might keep _me_ warm in the winter, but I guess I'll have to keep _you_ warm he said, pouncing at her and pulling her down onto the bed…

It was the best week of Hitsugaya's life, no paperwork, and he and Matsumoto spent the days together. Toshiro had never been happier in his whole life than he was now, with Matsumoto.

"Well, I guess its back to Soul Society?" Hitsugaya said, Matsumoto's head resting against his chest. "Oh, I don't want this to end, can't we just stay here?" she whined, twisting her head to look up at him.

"Well" he said mischievously "We could, but we'd probably be killed by our officers for leaving them to do all the paperwork"

"So" she replied, burying her head deeper into his chest.

He reached up and ran his fingers through her long hair, "Just because we go back to Soul Society…doesn't mean the fun has to stop" he said cheekily.

"Suppose" she answered back.

_**You know master. I'm so proud of you this week**_ Hyorinmaru said proudly. Hitsugaya could almost imagine him wiping a tear away from his eyes…

**Soul Society**

"OH MY GOD!" Were the first words out of Hitsugaya's mouth as he opened the office door, having just came back from the holiday. He stared around at actual mountains of paperwork, and at two of his officers, drunk and asleep, who lay beside them. His shout woke them, and the last thing either of them remember, was looking at a very angry young captain, before they were both found to be icebergs floating on the lake.

"It's going to take days to get this paperwork done, weeks" he said angrily. Matsumoto placed her arm around his shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll help you do it."

For the next week, Hitsugaya almost regretted going on holiday, although when he thought back to the memories he had, he would disagree. After working three times faster than he normally did, having demoted the two officers back to freshmen, Hitsugaya finally collapsed onto the sofa after signing his name for what felt like the bazillionth time that week.

"Now I know how you feel about paperwork" he said to Matsumoto, as she walked in, and sat near his head. She gently pulled him onto her lap, and began her usual routine of running her hands through his soft, silver locks, which always calmed him down a lot.

"Well, now that the paperwork's done, I can think of a few more interesting things we could be doing" she said cunningly.

Hitsugaya looked up at her when suddenly the door burst open and they jumped off each other. "Ukitake! What are you doing here?" he said cautiously, trying not to sound too annoyed.

"Phew, I saw the empty box and I feared the worst" he panted.

"Wha, What?" Hitsugaya said, completely dumbfounded.

"You've finished all your candy all ready! Haven't you?" he asked, starting to panic.

"What?" he said, getting more confused by the second._ Oh that massive box I gave to Matsumoto, he better not be thinking about giving me another one._

"Well, I just got a new shipment in" he said happily

"Oh no" Hitsugaya said quietly, fearing the worst.

"Come on, come on" Ukitake said, slightly flustered at his less than enthusiastic reaction.

Hitsugaya and Matsumoto followed him outside, and he nearly fainted at the sight that met his eyes, as he stared out at what had been the 10th division garden.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS" he roared, making Ukitake jump back in fright

He stared around at what now resembled some sort of candy land, the whole garden had been deluged in millions of bags of candy and chocolates and every type of sweet imaginable.

"I knew you'd like it" Ukitake said happily, misreading the look on Hitsugaya's face. With a smile, he turned around and went back to 13th division.

"Matsumoto" Hitsugaya said, as calmly as he could as he looked around at the mountains of sweets, "You hungry?"…

It was late at night, when Matsumoto returned from the 'cleanup' operation of the garden, she had called all of her friends, but they still hadn't managed to eat that much, so only a small area was now clear of sweets.

"Don't worry Captain" Matsumoto said as she saw his worried expression when she walked in.

"I haven't eaten too much. I wanted to make sure my stomach wasn't sore" she said, winking seductively at him, before walking up to his desk.

"I think, you've done enough work" she said, grabbing him and pulling him up.

Toshiro gave a small fake yawn "I'm so tired, I could just fall asleep right now" he said cheekily, loosening his shinigami robes.

"I guess I'll just have to wake you up" she said mischievously, dragging him to her room.

"How were the sweets?" he asked lazily.

"Oh they were nice, but not as sweet as you" she said tickling him. He giggled a little and half-heartedly attempted to hold her back.

"I wonder were he gets his supplies from? He said slipping into her bed, as she joined him…

**Meanwhile…**

"Thank you so much" Ukitake said happily. "I don't know where you get your suppliers, but they really do bring the best sweets, and you can order as much as you like"

"Yeah, but when you got a vice-captain like mine, you have to know a good supplier of sweets" said a gruff voice.

"I suppose, but I didn't know you could order that much" Ukitake said

"What, Idiot, you think that's a lot, my vice captain would get through about twice that in one week.

"Well, thanks again…Kenpachi"

"Yeah, no probs. By the way, who were you giving them to anyway?"

"Oh, little Shiro-chan."

"Who the hells that? Wait a minute, is that the lil captain I wanted to fight?" he said angrily,

"Dunno, probably not" Ukitake said, starting to back away, before asking "So Yachiru goes through twice that many sweets in a day?"

"Yeah"

"Maybe I should have bought him more" Ukitake said thoughtfully, before returning to 13th division…

**Matsumoto's Bedroom**

…"Who knows? I don't know any sweet shops big enough to sell him that much" Matsumoto said thoughtfully, as she and Toshiro lay in bed together.

"Aren't we getting a little sidetracked" Hitsugaya said, sliding up to her.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot" she said, slightly sarcastically, whilst smiling at him.

"Well, I guess I'll be the one waking you up" he said, removing his shinigami robes.

"Its so much less restricting when you aren't in a gigai" Toshiro said thoughtfully.

Matsumoto burst out laughing, "So you're saying you can do it better in Soul Society" she giggled.

"We'll just have to find out" he said, laughing himself now. _Between Ichigo, Rukia, Hinamori and Ukitake, I don't think my troubles will ever go away. But whenever I'm with Matsumoto, I feel like I don't have any troubles at all…_

Finally, the gardens of 10th Division had been returned to their original, candy-free state. It was as Hitsugaya walked through them, on a cool day in autumn, that he met Hinamori. He had not seen or spoken to her since her and Rukia's plot to ruin his relationship with Matsumoto.

"Captain Hitsugaya?" she said nervously as she approached him, but he just walked on past her, averting his eyes, a frown on his face. She reached out and grabbed his arm to hold him back.

"Captain Hitsugaya, please listen" she said anxiously, slightly afraid of what his reaction would be.

He had noticed that she was referring to him as Captain, for the first time in his memory. "WHAT! I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THE LIKES OF YOU!" he said angrily, wrenching his arm out of her grip.

"Toshiro, I'm sorry! Please listen, I overreacted, I didn't mean to hurt you"

"Well, it's lucky that we got back together after it, or you would have been the one that was hurt." He said forcefully. The gardens had already begun to be coated in a light layer of ice.

"Please, I'm so sorry" she said, beginning to cry, "Can't we just be friends again? We've known each other so long" she whimpered.

"Yeah, and even after all that time, you still did it. Anyway, it's not just me you need to apologize to!" he growled. _Even after everything that's happened, I do still care for her a little, but not as much as I did. I just can't trust her anymore, but…love does crazy things to people._

Tears ran slowly down her face, "I am really, really sorry! I will never do something so stupid again, I don't want our friendship to end! I'll apologise to…to Matsumoto as well…" she said frantically.

One of the things Hitsugaya hated most in the world, was seeing someone crying, he couldn't bear it, it always made him want to protect them, to comfort them. Even though he was angry at Hinamori, he still wanted to cheer her up as he looked into her sad face.

"I just don't know if I can trust you again, but…we'll see how things go"

"You'll forgive me?" she asked hopefully.

"…I…suppose so, yes" he said calmly, almost instantly he saw the look of delight spread across her face.

"Thank you…Shiro-chan", she smiled

"Don't call me that!" he said, but he smiled a little too.

"Well, just as long as you don't do anything like that again, then you're forgiven" said Matsumoto.

"Thank you" Hinamori said, looking at the floor, before leaving.

"Well that didn't go too bad, I'm glad that me and Hinamori are friends again" Hitsugaya said calmly.

"Mmm" Matsumoto said lightly.

"What?"

"How can you be sure she won't try anything, you do know that she loves you"

"I trust her, a bit. Anyway if she did ever try anything, I would never forgive her, and nothing can break us up anyway" he said playfully, walking over to hold Matsumoto.

"Nope, they couldn't break us up, no matter how much they tried" Matsumoto said softly.

"Owww" Matsumoto groaned.

"WHAT THE HELLS WRONG, YOU'VE BEEN GROANING FOR AGES" said a frustrated Hitsugaya as he was once again distracted from his paperwork by her groaning.

"My teeth are killing me" she whimpered, "I think it was all them stupid sweets"

Hitsugaya shifted guiltily, and went over to comfort her. "I'm sorry for making you eat all that candy, but at least we have a garden again" he said jokily. "Maybe you should go and see Unohana" he said.

"Ok" Matsumoto whispered, "But I don't want to go alone"

"Why, there's nothing to be scared of " Hitsugaya replied.

"Please, I hate going to see Unohana…"

"What, why…apart from her creepy glare, she's not that bad" he said.

"It's not that, it's that…every time I see her she always goes on about how I, we should make sure we use protection" Matsumoto said in a rush, trying to say it as quick as possible so she would be less embarrassed.

"Wha…WHAT!" Hitsugaya shouted, his face flushed.

They both looked at the floor, embarrassed. Hitsugaya finally broke the awkward silence. "Well, I'll, er, go with you" he muttered.

**4****th**** Division**

"Ah, Matsumoto, Captain Hitsugaya, what brings you two here" Unohana said calmly, as they walked into her office.

_**Matsumoto is pregnant **_whispered Hyorinmaru.

"Matsumoto is pr…I mean, her teeth are sore" he spluttered.

_What the hell, you stupid perverted idiot, look what you nearly made me say _he thought angrily, as Hyorinmaru laughed.

"Ok, well Matsumoto, if you'd just come over here"

Toshiro squeezed Matsumoto's hand to reassure her as she followed Unohana into the next room…

"…and I wouldn't advise you to eat anymore candy" Unohana said sweetly as they walked out of the room a few minutes later.

Matsumoto walked over to sit beside Hitsugaya, she rubbed her hand against her jaw as Unohana sat down on the other side of the desk.

"Well, it was just a bad case of toothache, but it'll be fine"

They both stood up to leave, "Captain Hitsugaya" she said in a motherly voice.

Hitsugaya slowly turned round, fearing the worst. "Since you're here, you might as well have a check-up as well" she said, smiling.

"But I was…I…just…" Hitsugaya said, his voice trailing off as she glared at him whilst still smiling. It was that look that would make anyone obey her, even Kenpachi.

"Yes…I…suppose" he whispered.

"Excellent" Unohana said.

_That glare mixed with a smile is just so creepy, I wish I had stayed at the office_ Hitsugaya thought miserably as she led him into the examination room.

"Toshiro? What are you so happy about" Matsumoto asked uncertainly, snow swirled past the windows, as they both did their paperwork.

"Winter's here" he said, looking out at the blizzard outside. _My favourite time of the year, away from the sweltering heat of the sun, nice cool days, well, at least I find them cool, other people find them freezing. The best thing is that I can control the ice and snow, so I can fight better. Everyone always wants me to be on their team if we have a snowball fight, I do try not to cheat but, it is quite easy to…cover them in snow if I want to. _He suddenly had a fleeting memory of Hinamori hitting him with a snowball when he was young, he couldn't control his powers at that point, and he had accidentally caused the snow to lift off the ground and then surround her, so she resembled a snowman.

"You should be happy too" he said

"What? Why?" she asked, slightly confused.

"Today's the last day of paperwork before we get our winter break" he said cheerfully.

"Wh…YAY! I completely forgot" she screamed enthusiastically, and at that, she worked harder than ever to finish the remaining paperwork.

It was early in the afternoon when they had both finished their last paperwork before the holiday. Hitsugaya and Matsumoto crunched their way through a thick layer of snow, towards the 10th division barracks.

"Hey Toshiro" said Matsumoto, suddenly stopping, "Wanna build a snowman?"

"What, that's a bit childish" he said.

She smiled sweetly at him, "Come on please…" she said, fluttering her eyelashes.

"Fine" he said, giving in to her pleading.

"Let's see who can make the best one"

_Heh, this'll be easy_ he thought slyly.

"Finished" he said, before Matsumoto had so much as touched the snow, she turned around.

"WHAT, YOU CHEATER!!" she said, looking at the perfectly formed snowman he had created, while Hitsugaya laughed playfully.

"You haven't finished, cause it doesn't have a face or anything yet, it's just two lumps of sn…" Matsumoto's face was suddenly covered in snow. "Wh…bu…ga" she spluttered, shaking the snow out of her hair, she looked over at Hitsugaya, who was bent double with laughter. She had never seen him so cheerful

"TOSHIRO!!" she roared, reaching down and grabbing a massive pile of snow and throwing it at him with all her might. Somehow, it veered off, and the snowball turned around and flew back at her.

"WHAT, NO FAIR", but she had a new tactic, she scooped up a pile of snow and charged at him. Before he could even stop laughing, she had unceremoniously dumped the whole lot on his head, before wrestling him to the ground. She pinned him down, but he just giggled up at her, his face coated in powdery snow. She then grabbed as much snow around her as she could, while still keeping him trapped, and shoved it into his face.

"How do you like that" she said triumphantly. She smirked down at him, some of the snow, had caught in his long silvery hair, and she brushed it away, while he did the same to her.

"You gonna keep me trapped beneath you for the rest of the night?" he asked light-heartedly.

"Maybe I will" she teased.

Suddenly Hitsugaya made a massive wave of snow crash on top of her, she shrieked loudly and he took his opportunity to escape. Shivering, soaking and covered in snow, she gave chase.

He ran, still laughing, into the office, before realising it was a dead end, he turned around to find Matsumoto, standing at the door. She was out of breath but her prey had been cornered.

"You're gonna regret that" she said dangerously. She pounced at him, but he dodged out of the way and sped off down the corridor, Matsumoto quickly restarted the pursuit.

"COME BACK HERE!" She roared. She wasn't really angry with him, she thought the situation was quite funny, but she didn't want to let him know that. _Damn him and his ability to control ice and snow. I'll get him back._

She lost sight of him as he ran into his bedroom and closed the door. Matsumoto charged up and pounded on it. "LET ME IN! YOU OWE ME FOR WHAT YOU DID" With a huge effort she managed to open the door.

"Ok then, I'm sorry" he giggled, _the one time I annoy her and she gets all riled up, she basically is that annoying to me every day._

She slowly walked up to him when she had a miraculous plan to get revenge on him.

"…Ok, you're forgiven" she said calmly, "You look so adorable when your laughing, it makes me want to…"

"Makes you want to what?" Hitsugaya asked nervously, backing away slowly, fearing the worst

"HUG YOU" she screamed as she grabbed him and pulled him into the tightest hug he could ever remember, his face shoved deep in her…"valley".

He hadn't even had time to catch his breath, he knew that this was his punishment, being suffocated.

She could feel him struggling against her, wiggling his head in between her breasts to try to breath. She found the sensation to be quite enjoyable, she giggled a little and finally released him.

He collapsed in a heap onto his bed, his face tinged blue slightly from the lack of oxygen. He then began to cough loudly, he took a deep breath, refilling his lungs with air.

"You…could have…killed me" he spluttered, chocking slightly.

"Of course I couldn't, I would never hug you for that long, and if I felt you go limp than I'd know that you need to be released." She explained cheerfully.

"Well what happens if you aren't quick enough" he exclaimed, hoping never to be hugged that way again.

"Then I guess I'd just have to…resuscitate you, you know…mouth to mouth" she said seductively, sidling up to him.

"Well, I think you got me back, but it was only a bit of snow compared to…suffocation" he said quickly, he had been about to say 'attempted murder' but he knew she wouldn't take it well.

"It may be only a bit of snow to you, but now I'm soaked, freezing and my hair is all messed up" she said, eyeing her soaking wet hair that was hanging down in a tangled clutter.

After having finally got his breath back, he stood up and ran his fingers through her sweet smelling hair, he used his power over water to dry her sopping wet hair.

Matsumoto was quite taken aback when he had started running his hands through her hair, as it was normally what she did to him to calm him down, she found it to be a very relaxing sensation, and she now knew why he liked it so much when she did it to him. As he stopped and stepped back, she suddenly realised that her hair was dry again.

"What the…?" she said confusedly, running her own fingers through her now dry hair.

"I have power over water in all its forms, not just ice and snow" he said, smiling slightly at her shocked expression.

"I never knew that! You have all sorts of hidden talents. So…do you want to finish our snowman building competition?" she said happily.

"Yeah, ok" he replied.

"And NO cheating this time…or else" she added threateningly, pointing at her chest.

"Oh no" Hitsugaya groaned as he walked into the office and instantly spotted a large package on his desk. As he suspected, the package was filled with candy, most of which where lollipops.

"Ukitake got you some more sweets" Matsumoto asked uninterestedly as she walked in.

"Yes" Hitsugaya moaned.

"Still, not as bad as last time eh?" she said cheerfully.

"Oh really…look outside" he said miserably.

It was only now, that Matsumoto realized she couldn't see out the windows, due to the amount of candy that was outside.

"Why don't you just tell him you don't like candy!" she said unsympathetically.

"And I sure hope you don't expect me to eat it all this time" she added, noticing his pleading face.

"You won't help…not even a little?" he whined, using the new technique Ichigo had taught him.

Matsumoto nearly fainted as she looked at Toshiro giving her the puppy dog eyes look. He just looked too adorable to be allowed, the puppy dog eyes actually gave him an unbearable cuteness and Matsumoto had to shield her eyes from such a gorgeous sight.

"ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME! YOU ALREADY LOOK UNBEARABLY SEXY, BUT NOW…" she gave a slight peek through her closed eyes and realized he was still looking at her with large wide eyes and a fake sad face. "DAMN YOU, FINE I'LL DO IT"

"Thanks" he said slyly. _I'll have to thank Ichigo for teaching me that._

_**The way you look, you could have made her do anything…**_

_What, Hyorinmaru, I thought I told you not to interfere with…stuff like that._

_**I have to say, you've been "doing" fine on your own **_Hyorinmaru said slyly.

_What's that supposed to mean._

_**Well, I honestly believe you've being doing fine on your own with "stuff like that". Anyway **_He said quickly before Hitsugaya could angrily cut in, _**by anything, you could make her do the paperwork by using your big, lovable puppy dog look.**_

_Er…thanks, that's a great idea._

_**To be honest, that look is just soooooo delightful, I think you could make anyone do anything, like…make Ukitake stop giving you sweets.**_

_I don't think it would work on anyone _Hitsugaya thought embarrassedly.

_**You really underestimate your power to woo people, you could walk up to anyone and they'd want to do you. You're so sexy, even I think you're good looking, if I wasn't a sword I would…**_

_HYORINMARU _Toshiro thought angrily, his face flushed with embarrassment.

"You know, you should at least eat some of these sweets" said Matsumoto, breaking his thoughts. "Why do you look so embarrassed?" she asked, seeing the deep crimson blush on his face.

"It's nothing… forget about it" he said, looking away from her and staring at his sword as though it would burst in to flames at any second.

Matsumoto guessed that it had something to do with Hyorinmaru, so she decided not to pursue the subject, "As I was saying, you really should have some of these sweets too. Here, have a watermelon flavoured lollipop" she said, almost ramming it into his mouth.

"I…don't…want" he spluttered as she forced the lolly into his mouth. It wasn't too bad he thought, after sucking on it for a while. The watermelon flavour was sweeter and tasted better than a real watermelon. "That's actually quite…nice" he said, but suddenly regretted it, as he realised that Ukitake was standing at the door, watching as he ate the lollipop.

He had a large grin on his face as he looked at Hitsugaya, "I knew you'd like it, most of them are watermelon flavour because Matsumoto told me it was your favourite flavour. I'm so glad you like them. Well, ENJOY" Ukitake said very cheerfully as he walked away.

"MATSUMOTO!! Did…you…tell him… this? Is it…true?" Hitsugaya asked, his voice shaking with rage.

"Well…yes" she said nervously, "But you really should just tell him not to give you them" she said quickly.

"Well thanks to you, I've got a whole bunch of watermelon flavoured candy! You better eat all of it, because I'm not gonna eat any of them" he said angrily.

"The thing is…I don't like watermelon flavour…but anyway, you said you liked them, just a moment ago, you could eat them." She said, now starting to sense that familiar chill in the air.

"Fine, I'll just give them all to Yachiru" he said, becoming very frustrated with both Ukitake and Matsumoto.

"Just go to Squad 13 and tell him you don't want any sweets" Matsumoto said before swiftly leaving.

"Ok I'll try, but he'll probably just think he didn't give me enough if I go and see him" he called back.

**13****th**** Division**

Hitsugaya knocked nervously on the door of Squad 13s office, fearing the worst.

"Come in" called Ukitake. "Ahh, Shir…Captain Hitsugaya!" he said cheerfully as soon as Toshiro walked through the door.

"Emm…well I was just wondering if you could…" he paused nervously, looking at Ukitakes pale, but at the moment, happy face.

_**Stop giving me stupid candy, Stop giving me stupid candy! **_Chanted Hyorinmaru in his head.

"Do you want some more sweets?" Ukitake asked happily.

"Stop giving me stupid candy!" Hitsugaya shouted without thinking.

_**Well done, you've finally did it, **_cheered Hyorinmaru.

"Wh…wha?" said Ukitake, a crestfallen look on his face, his usual smile fading away. "But…I thought…you liked them…?"

Hitsugaya suddenly realised that Hyorinmaru had made him shout it out, he felt terrible looking at Ukitake's unusually sad face.

"Well…if that's…the way you feel, then I wont give you anymore", Ukitake said calmly. Unfortunately, Hitsugaya couldn't help but smile a little at the news that he would no longer have to swim through a mountain of candy to reach the office. This however made Ukitake more upset, "So you never liked it, you probably just gave it away. All this time I thought I was making you happy, fine…go." He said looking away from Hitsugaya.

"Look…I'm…sorry" he said half-heartedly.

"Just GO!" said Ukitake, with his back to Hitsugaya.

Toshiro swiftly left the office, and when he was a safe enough distance away, he let out a small cheer. _YES, I never have to get his stupid sweets ever again. I wish I hadn't hurt his feelings so much. That was all your fault Hyorinmaru._

_**NO IT WASN'T. You're such a wuss, you would have never told him anyway, I just had to help you along again.**_

_It felt like the image of Ukitake's sad face was glued over his eyes and he could think of almost nothing else, as he returned to the office._

**10****th**** Division Office**

"Hi Matsumoto" Hitsugaya sighed as he walked in, before slumping onto his chair.

"Toshiro, what's wrong?" Matsumoto asked cautiously.

"Thanks to stupid Hyorinmaru, Ukitakes gonna hate me forever cause he made me shout out that I didn't want his stupid candy" he relied dully.

Matsumoto had to stop herself from laughing a little, and then she walked over to comfort him. "It's alright, he'll forget about it in a while…and then he'll probably find someone else to give candy to" she said, attempting to cheer him up.

"I…suppose" he said softly…

"PLEASE…stop doing that, fine I'll do the paperwork" Matsumoto cried with her hands over her eyes as she pleaded with Toshiro.

Hitsugaya smirked a little and he stopped using his puppy dog eyes, _this is great, I have a weapon to use against her now when she annoys me._

Matsumoto gave him a glare as she watched him smirk slightly at his own skill.

_I wish he didn't have to look so damn adorable _Matsumoto thought irritably as she sat down and started the paperwork, while Hitsugaya disappeared into the kitchen. _But I suppose, that sexiness_ _is all mine…_

As Hitsugaya made himself some tea, he thought about the most recent 'hug' Matsumoto had gave him, _It isn't comfortable when she smothers me but still, she loves me… I don't think she can ever try to suffocate me again…or else I'll use my puppy dog eyes. I suppose this is finally an end to my troubles. Rukia and Hinamori have stopped fighting over me and me and Hinamori are friends again, me and Ichigo are friends, Ukitake has stopped giving me candy, I can make Matsumoto do the paperwork and I've finally got Hyorinmaru to shut up._

_**I don't think so master **_Hyorinmaru cut in slyly

_FINE, well apart from that everything's perfect…_Toshiro thought cheerfully.

_Well at least I've got Matsumoto to cheer me up if I ever do have any problems, but finally, my troubles have gone away…_

**THE END?**


End file.
